


One Day at a Time

by MaggiesAngel



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Hand Jobs, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Oral Sex, Past Abuse, Safehouses, Shower Sex, Stucky - Freeform, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-07-12 11:58:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 58,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19945801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggiesAngel/pseuds/MaggiesAngel
Summary: Steve and Bucky are former military special ops, one retired, the other medically discharged. The alphas now work as security consultants and live happily together. On occasion, they also take in omegas who need a place to hide and heal from trauma while they get their lives back together. But what happens when their latest charge is hiding from someone who has deep ties to their past?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tags updated

The men groaned as the phone rang incessantly, piercing the silence of the night. Just when voicemail would have picked up, it stopped, only to start ringing again a few seconds later. Steve rolled over, fumbling on the nightstand as he groaned, “All right, all right, fuck!” Bringing it up to his ear, he answered, “Hello?”

“Rogers?”

His frown deepened as he recognized his boss’ voice. “Fury,” Steve greeted. “Yeah, it’s me. What’s happened?”

Barnes stirred next to him, his lover’s voice and their boss’ name waking him with a deep frown on his face. “What is it?”

“Something that could affect you both,” Fury replied. “If Barnes is awake, put him on too.”

Steve nodded and pulled the phone away. “You’re on speakerphone, Sir,” Rogers announced, rubbing at his eyes as the last tendrils of sleep slipped from his mind.

“I know you’ve both helped in the past with omegas that have come through the clinic and safehouses,” Fury started. “But we’ve got one right now… She’s in rough shape, gentlemen. You know I can’t say much unless you agree to make your home a safe house, and the omega agrees to you both.”

The men shared a look and instantly nodded. “You know we’re good, Sir,” Bucky replied easily. Both alphas were ex-military and committed to one another, which made omegas feel more at ease in their home. They now worked as security consultants, mostly from the house which made them available at all times to the omega. Steve did more on-site work, as injuries Barnes had received to his arm made it so that he was less able to do physical work.

“Good. Get dressed, come to Bakers Memorial, fourth floor,” Fury said and hung up.

Bucky chuckled. “That man never says goodbye, does he?”

“Never,” Steve agreed. “But I can’t help but wonder how bad the omega is if they’re still in hospital and not at a safe house.”

“Should we bring Duke?” Bucky added, glancing down at the dog who was watching them with interest. When Steve nodded slightly, Bucky reached for the animal’s service vest and grinned as the massive animal sat up and patiently waited for it to be fastened in place.

“All right, let’s go find out what’s going on.”

*****

The fourth floor was nearly silent since it was approaching three in the morning. Even the elevator’s ding seemed to echo loudly down the hallway. The men exited and Steve easily spotted his boss where he leaned against the wall outside the nurse’s station, his eyes on one of the glass walls of a room across from him, in conversation with a doctor Steve and Bucky knew. Fury turned to see who was coming, but his shoulder relaxed when he recognized the men.

“Sir,” Steve greeted, offering his hand.

“Rogers,” Fury greeted. “Barnes. Sorry for the early wake-up call.”

“Not a problem,” Bucky replied easily.

“Morning, Pepper,” Steve said with a small smile.

“Hey, guys,” she said with a nod. “I’m glad you two could make it.”

“Hey, pooch,” Fury greeted the dog with a smile, patting his head. “Good idea, gentlemen; I hadn’t even thought of Duke, but he’s probably necessary here. I will take you in, but I honestly don’t know how she will respond to having so many of us in the room.”

Steve frowned. “Would one at a time be better?”

“I don’t know,” Fury admitted. “This entire case is a bit of a mess.”

Duke had walked to the end of his leash and nosed open the glass door before Bucky realized what he had done. The scent of distressed, terrified omega reached the alphas as the dog darted out of Bucky’s hand and into the room. “Duke!” he admonished softly, stepping into the doorway slowly, not wanting to frighten the omega further. The sight that greeted him stopped him fully.

The woman’s hair was matted to her head with dried blood, her face swollen and bruised. She wasn’t sitting on the bed but curled into a ball in the corner. Duke had wormed his way into her arms, and she hugged him closely. She had her face buried into his fur, but her wide blue eyes had rolled up to stare at Bucky where he stood.

Crouching down so that he didn’t loom over her, he shook his head. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean for him to come rushing in here,” he said softly. “Did he scare you?”

Steve noticed what had happened and moved to sit just inside the door; he could see the omega through the legs of the bed this way. Fury stepped into the room and moved to sit on the floor at the foot of the bed. All three alphas sat to be on the same level as the terrified omega, who Steve could see was shivering as she hugged the dog close to her chest.

Duke, for his part, licked lazily at her arm and leaned further into the woman’s chest, a quiet presence. Fury watched as the girl’s eyes flicked between the men and he let out a heavy sigh. “Izabelle, these were the alphas I told you about,” he said softly. “Steve is the blond one sitting over there; Bucky is the dark-haired one in the doorway there.” Fury pointed to each of the men in turn. “And the dog in your lap there is Duke.”

She looked between the men, then down at the dog. The dark-skinned alpha had saved her and told her that he had a safe place for her to stay. With alphas who were a couple; in theory that should mean that they would leave her alone, Izabelle knew. And they had done this before, the man, Fury, she remembered, had told her. _But what happened to_ **_those_ ** _omegas?_ Her mind wondered, her breathing started to come quicker, in short gasps. The dog whined in her arms, moving his head to lay along her neck.

“The others?” she whispered, the first real words she had spoken since the newcomers had arrived, her eyes staring at Fury.

Steve and Bucky shared a confused look, but Fury nodded. “I can put you in touch with a set of twins; Wanda and Pietro. They stayed with Steve and Bucky while they got back on their feet. Just let me call them. I’ll be right outside, in full view. All right?”

Steve watched Izabelle nod, her hold tightening slightly on Duke, who relaxed farther into the woman in response. Rogers was infinitely grateful Bucky had thought to bring the animal, who had been fully trained as a therapy dog. The enormous dog seemed to be helping her cope with the situation.

Fury was back minutes later, his phone held out and the video activated. “Wanda, Pietro, this is Izabelle,” he introduced. He got just close enough to hand over the piece of tech, then motioned to the alphas. “We’ll give you some privacy.”

She watched the men leave, then turned back to the pair on the phone. Izabelle could see herself in the corner image and shuddered. Her pale skin was covered in purples and reds, bloody scratches and a few stitches on her neck; she knew the rest of her body was worse than her face. She was drawn out of her misery when the woman spoke.

“Fury said you needed to speak to someone who had stayed with Steve and Bucky?” she said gently.

“I’m just…” Izabelle’s throat closed off as tears threatened.

“It’s okay,” Pietro assured gently. “We had each other and didn’t trust anyone else by the time we reached them either. They’re good men, though. I’m a beta, but Wanda’s an omega; our father was an alpha who beat us and sold us out for money. I see you already trust Duke, so that’s a good sign.”

Izabelle looked down at the dog in her arms and smiled slightly. “What if I need to be held?” She hated that side of being an omega; wanting physical comfort. It was what always made her weak.

“It never goes any further than a hug or cuddling with them, I promise,” Wanda assured. “Their house is probably still set up the same; you’ll have your own room, but you’ll be welcome to share their bed if you need comfort. You’ll lead everything. We stayed there for nearly for a year. I think we were the last ones they took in, and that was a year ago.”

Izabelle chewed her lip and shook her head, fighting tears. “I just… I don’t know if I can…”

“Izabelle, look at me,” Wanda said softly. “Steve and Bucky are ex-military.”

“Wanda!” Pietro snapped; Fury had warned them against mentioning it.

“I’m not going to lie to her,” Wanda argued with him, before turning back to the camera. “They turned in one of their own men for crimes; hurting people, and Bucky was hurt because of the same alpha. It didn’t stop them from testifying. They believe in doing the right thing, Izabelle. Their group was disbanded. Steve served for a while longer, then retired. But the two of them, and another friend of theirs banded against two others and testified.”

Izabelle let out a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“I’ll give Fury permission to share our information,” Pietro said gently. “We don’t live far. If you need company, or to talk, you’ll be free to call, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Just remember; not every alpha is like the one who hurt you,” Wanda murmured. She kissed her index and middle fingers then pressed them to the camera before it cut out.

Izabelle set down the phone and hugged the dog for a minute more. “What do you think… Duke, is it? Should I come home with you?” she whispered. When he licked her neck, she nodded. “Yeah, okay…”

*****

“What the hell happened to her, Boss?” Steve murmured, his eyes never leaving the woman in the room. Fury frowned, and Rogers shook his head. “I know you can’t give details unless she agrees, but geezuz. We’ve had omegas in our care off and on for almost a decade; none of them looked like that.”

“She’s hiding from an ex,” Fury explained.

Bucky growled slightly, his eyes narrowing. “That’s all from one alpha?” he whispered furiously. “All of that fear coming off of her, is because of one person?”

“There’s a reason,” Fury explained. “He’s military.”

Steve’s mouth set in a firm line and he studied his boss. “We know him, don’t we?” he asked, his mind already whirling.

Before he could say anything, Fury saw her look up and he motioned to the men. Inside, he knelt and took back his phone when she offered it to him. “Everything okay there, Izabelle?”

“I’ll go with them,” she said softly.

Steve and Bucky let out relieved sighs and nodded. Barnes had suspected the twins would be able to convince her; their recovery had gone very well, even though it had taken some time. Fury spoke gently. “There’s paperwork for the men to do, and then I’ll be back for you to sign something as well, Izabelle. Pepper is going to come in and give you another once-over too, all right?”

The trio of men moved out to the hallway and Pepper stepped into the room. “All right, Izabelle, I know I gave you an exam, but I want you to stop by this clinic in a few days once you’ve started to heal,” Pepper explained, handing over a card. “The lead doctor there is a friend and a beta, Bruce Banner, and I work there as well. I’ll have them call either Bucky or Steve to arrange the exam.”

Izabelle nodded, but stayed silent, taking the card. She studied the strawberry blonde alpha and swallowed hard, still hugging the dog close to her chest.

Pepper smiled gently. “Both Steve and Bucky will be on suppressants, so they won’t go into ruts while you’re staying with them,” she continued to explain, watching as the young omega let out a sigh of relief. “My number is on the back of the card I just gave you as one of the ones who run the clinic, and I live not far from the boys. If you need anything, Izabelle, call me. All right?” Pepper watched her nod silently and offered a small smile.

In the hallway, Fury turned to the couple. “All right, gentlemen. Yes, you know who her ex-alpha is, but right now, the most important thing is to get her out of here and someplace she feels safe,” Fury instructed. He handed over a folder and nodded. “Everything you need to know is in there.”

Steve took it with a nod. He wrapped an arm around Bucky and kissed his cheek. “Here we go, babe,” he murmured.

Bucky grinned and nodded. “Here we go.”

*****


	2. Chapter 2

The SUV pulled up the drive and Izabelle looked around. The neighbours weren’t too close, and it was still so dark that no one would see her entering the house. She studied the shrubbery and trees warily, feeling as if she was being watched, and pulled the hospital blanket closer around her shoulders. She realized she still sat at the edge of the backseat, and both alphas were standing, patiently waiting, and she blushed. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” Steve assured. At the hospital, the policy had insisted she use a wheelchair, so he wasn’t certain how steady she was on her feet.

When she pushed to stand, her hands gripping the vehicle and eyes still darting around in fear, Izabelle’s legs wouldn’t hold her, and she slumped to the ground. She flinched when Steve reached for her, Bucky already gone ahead to open the front door, and he froze.

“Can I help?” Steve asked. She looked in surprise at him, which made him offer a small smile. “I won’t force you, Izabelle, if you want to try on your own again. But if you want to get inside faster, I will help you if you want.”

“Please,” she whispered. Izabelle tensed, her entire body flinching away from him as Steve leaned over her. A terrified whimper crawled from her throat as she curled in on herself, barely noticing that Duke had come over to lick her face.

Steve almost choked on the sickening smell of her fear but knew she had no control over it. He worked on emanating calmness as he kicked the car door closed, carrying her inside and to the spare room. Laying her on the bed, he stepped back, shaking his head in amusement as Duke immediately jumped up and pressed into her side.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered with wide eyes.

“Izabelle, we’re not angry,” Bucky assured from the doorway.

She frowned, quirking her head. “You’re not?”

Steve sat at the foot of the queen-sized bed, far away from her, even as Bucky came over to lay a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve learned fear at the hands of an alpha, Izabelle; that won’t change just by snapping our fingers,” Rogers said gently. “That’s why there are networks of safe houses, like ours, designed for omegas to go to.”

Izabelle nodded and stared down at the dog in her arms. Bucky offered a gentle smile when Steve glanced up at him helplessly and shook his head. “There’s an en-suite bathroom right through that door there, Izabelle,” Bucky said, pointing. “The nightstand on your right is a minifridge, and it has protein drinks and water. The TV remotes are in the top drawer of the other nightstand, in case you can’t sleep; we get all the movie channels.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, he’s right. You should try and get some rest if you can. Our room is right across the hall, and you’re more than welcome to join us if you need the company, Izabelle.”

She watched them go and let out a shaky sigh. For the first time, she looked around the room she was in. It was painted in a sandy colour, the floor a dark hardwood to match the furniture, the linen on the bed white and ocean blue, which coordinated with a comfortable looking armchair in the corner. The room was comfortable, light and airy, and after a few minutes, Izabelle pushed herself unsteadily to her feet and made her way to the bathroom by holding onto furniture. Inside was decorated much the same, and she debated between the large, sunken tub and the stand-up shower in the corner.

Duke, who had followed her in, lay on the ground and stayed vigilant, while Izabelle decided that since her hair was a mess, a shower was better. It took several minutes of the water pouring on it to soak it through while she leaned on the wall, and Izabelle watched the water run from red to pink, and finally clear down the drain before she grabbed the shampoo. It hurt, everything hurt, and the heat from the shower brought the bruises to the surface in a throbbing mass.

By the time she stepped out her hair was washed and conditioned, and the rest of her was clean. Izabelle was wrapped in a towel as she sank to her knees sobbing from the pain. Her entire body hurt, but she had not wanted to get between the clean, white sheets so covered in dried blood and the scent of abject fear. Duke came over to lick her shoulder, and a sound made her look up. “I didn’t mean to wake you…” she whispered.

“You didn’t,” Bucky assured. “Steve went to get pain meds, how about I comb out your hair?”

When she nodded, he pulled over a stool that sat in the corner to sit in front of the mirror and helped her onto it. Bucky watched her take the towel from her head and was surprised to see her hair was not only red, but curly; it had been such a matted mess, neither had been obvious before. He caught Steve’s eye as he walked in with meds and a glass of water and watched the surprise blossom across his face at her appearance before the blond could hide it.

Izabelle stared at the meds warily but could see the markings that they were ibuprofen and let out a long sigh. She took them and drank the water slowly, then sat still and let Bucky slowly comb through her hair with a wide-tooth comb. He was gentle with her curls, which surprised her, and she could feel both men’s eyes on her.

Her arms were covered in symmetrically lined bruises, making her look like she was covered in tiger stripes. Izabelle lowered her eyes in shame; she knew what she looked like. She lost count of the number of stitches they had needed to put into her back and ribs from the knife wounds inflicted on her, and a few of her ribs were severely bruised. Pepper had given her a set of spare clothes from the hospital that Steve had brought in and set on the counter; pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, both soft materials that would not hurt her multitude of wounds.

Bucky disappeared once he had combed out her hair while Steve helped her dress carefully, only for the dark-haired alpha to reappear with an oil to put in her hair. When Izabelle frowned at him, he grinned and shrugged. “We keep a few different hair products on hand; this one I used when my hair was a bit longer, down past my shoulders,” he admitted.

Izabelle studied his dark hair, which reached almost to his shoulders now, and nodded slightly when he coated his hands and asked gently if he could apply it. She let him rub it in, then let out a tired sigh; the clock she could see in the bedroom said it was nearly five in the morning. Izabelle couldn’t think of the last time she had slept if she were honest with herself.

Steve watched her blink tiredly, and said, “Okay, how about we help you to bed, and you try to get some sleep?” When she nodded, he took her arm and helped her carefully back to the bed and onto the mattress before he stepped back, chuckling when Duke settled in next to her. Bucky grabbed the remotes and handed them to her, turning on the television and grabbed a bottle of water and a protein drink, setting them all easily in reach. “Try to relax, if you can. Even if you can’t settle enough to sleep, all right?” Steve asked gently.

“Okay,” she agreed quietly, watching the men head back across to their own room. Izabelle settled back onto the pillows that were piled behind her and rolled onto her side to face the television. She patted the bed and Duke dutifully hopped to her front, cuddling back in against her, making her smile.

Izabelle couldn’t think of the last time she lay in a bed and felt safe, and that alone was nearly miraculous. She stared at the screen on the wall and tried to let it lull her into comfort.

*****

Izabelle rolled onto her back in the bed, glanced around the room, and reached out to touch the dog; Duke nuzzled her hand gently. Closing her eyes made her see his face, hear his growl in her ear, and she shuddered. Across the hall, through the open bedroom doors, she could hear the gentle breathing of the alphas. It had been at least an hour, closer to two, since she had climbed into bed. And though she was utterly exhausted, sleep eluded her.

The sun was starting to rise, she could see it past the curtains, but she had yet to sleep despite how fuzzy her mind felt. Pushing to her feet, Izabelle crept across the hall, almost completely silent if it wasn’t for Duke’s nails on the hardwood floor next to her. She stood next to the king-sized bed and chewed at the inside of her cheek; her entire face ached from bruises, and the medications Steve had given her earlier had only pushed back the pain to a tolerable level.

She stared down at his t-shirt clad back, watched the muscles move as he breathed, and the arm tossed over Bucky, whose back was cuddled into the blond’s chest. Izabelle fought with herself; she was afraid of the men simply because they were alphas but knew she would feel safer next to them as well for the same reason.  _ Stupid biology, _ she thought to herself.

Climbing onto the bed, she curled onto her side carefully and shifted until she could feel the heat radiating off Steve’s back. Inhaling his scent, the calm energy he naturally exuded, her muscles finally started to start to relax. Until he woke.

Her scent reached him first; uncertainty, worry, fear. Then he felt the weight of her body behind him. Steve glanced back and saw her wide blue eyes looking up at him, worried. “Do you need to be held, or just be close?” The simplicity of the question made her frown and she opened her mouth without answering. Shifting on the bed, he kept one arm around Bucky but ended up on his back without crowding her and offered a small smile. “Anything you need, Izabelle.”

Licking her lips, Izabelle shifted until she could rest her head on his bicep. “My back hurts,” she whispered.

Steve nodded, understanding what she meant; she probably would like to be held, but it might cause her pain. He pressed his lips against the top of her head. “Sleep, if you can, Izabelle. You must be exhausted,” he murmured against her hair.

She snuggled in against him and felt her body relax by degrees. It took some time, but eventually, she felt dragged under.

*****


	3. Chapter 3

When Steve woke, it was nearly noon. Bucky wasn’t in bed, but Izabelle had curled into his chest. Though reluctant to move and risk waking her, he had to use the bathroom. He managed to carefully extract himself, using his pillow for her to hug in his place. When Steve stood, he saw Duke was laying along the back of her legs, his head propped on Izabelle’s hip. He vaguely wondered how a 120lb weight could be comfortable on her legs, then decided she found his furry presence comforting. Steve patted the dog’s head as he chuckled softly at the sight. “Good boy,” he praised.

After using the bathroom and cleaning up, he moved to the kitchen, where Bucky held out a full cup of coffee. “Bless you, babe,” he groaned.

“Did you hear her?” Bucky asked softly. “She talks in her sleep.”

“Rumlow,” Steve growled, his face dark at the thought.

Barnes nodded and ran his hands through his hair. “We know now why Fury asked us to look after her.”

“I’m gonna go make a few calls,” Steve said softly, glancing down the hall to the bedroom. “If it  _ was _ him, I wanna talk to Fury. Then we need to set up counselling with Nat. Sadistic bastard; who knows what Izabelle’s been through.”

“When you’re through, I’ll make a food run; we weren’t exactly expecting company. And we need to get clothes for her, she doesn’t have anything.”

Steve leaned forward and brushed a kiss on Bucky’s lips with a smile. “I’ll try not to be too long,” he promised.

Down the hall, in his office, Steve left the door open a crack just in case something happened he was needed and he sat behind his desk. The first phone call was to his boss, who picked up on the first ring while he opened the file he had been given.

“Long night?”

“You have no idea,” Steve replied, taking a long drink of his coffee. “Rumlow? Really?”

Fury paused and let out a sigh. “Haven’t read through the file yet?”

“Literally just got up, Boss. But she was talking in her sleep; not full-blown nightmares; I suspect those will be coming.” Rogers rubbed a hand over his face, combed his fingers through his beard and growled softly. “No, I haven’t read through the file yet, so give me the Reader’s Digest. How bad are we looking, Fury? And where the hell is Rumlow now? She was looking at every shadow when we got home last night like she expected him to jump out at her.”

“They were mated, no kids, for nearly a decade,” Fury explained.

Steve did the math in his head and a dark growl burst from his lips. “Fuck’s sake! That’s back when Buck and I served with him. He had a mate back home when he was fucking anything that moved?”

Fury understood the other alpha’s anger but was surprised by the outburst; Rogers was the more level-headed of the couple. “Yes.”

Getting up to pace, Steve took another long drink of coffee. “Izabelle has no mating mark now, but I don’t see her being the one to dissolve the bond.”

“Actually, she did,” Fury replied. “He came home with his dishonourable discharge, and smelling like all those betas and omegas, and I’m guessing it broke her. He wouldn’t let her go. After the discharge, we both know he served some time, but he was home before sentencing. From what we’ve been able to find out, we think Izabelle was on her own while he was in incarcerated and think the mating mark was dissolved then. We don’t know all the details; it looks like she ran and changed her name. When he got out, Rumlow found her, got her back, and it got ugly. But in the end, he had that girl chained up in a shed for…well, we’re not entirely sure.”

“And where is he now?” His voice was drawn low as his mind imagined the scenario; he had watched the fear in her eyes, smelled it on her, and knew the other alpha had damaged the woman. Rogers only hoped it wasn’t beyond repair.

“In custody,” Fury replied. “But Izabelle doesn’t believe he’ll stay there. She’s convinced he will get out.”

Steve frowned; he almost agreed with her. They had been on a counter-terrorist black op team and getting out of hopeless situations wasn’t unheard of. “And Rollins?” Rogers knew that Rumlow’s second was never far behind.

“We couldn’t tie him to Izabelle’s captivity. But he’s under close surveillance,” Fury replied.

“You wanted her with me and Buck because we’re the only ones who can stop Rumlow if he comes looking,” he said darkly.

“You’re not just a pretty face, Rogers,” Fury said, smile in his voice. “But you and Barnes both are protective as hell, without going knot-head on me with vulnerable omegas. Duke was an added bonus, and after seeing her last night with him, I’m glad you brought him.”

“Yeah, me too,” Steve replied with a heavy sigh. “He’s stuck to her like glue so far.”

“You’re calling in Clint’s mate on this, right? The therapist?”

Steve nodded and smiled slightly. “They were my next call. I have permission to tell Clint? He’s gonna need to know.”

“Granted. Small circle though, Rogers,” Fury warned. “If you need anything, you call it in. And if you can’t reach me for any reason…”

“Then I call Coulson, I know, Sir. I’ll try to keep you posted.” The line went dead and Steve chuckled as he sat back down at his desk. He pulled up his skype, figured it was easier to have this conversation face to face and was grateful when Bucky came in with a fresh, hot cup of coffee as the other end picked up.

“Geezuz, you look like shit,” Natasha commented with a frown.

Running a hand through his hair, Steve caught a glimpse of himself on the self-camera and snorted. “Yeah, well, it’s been a rough night. Is Clint around? I kinda need to chat with you both.”

Frowning, she nodded and turned. “Hun! It’s Steve. Something’s up.” The redhead turned back to the camera but waited patiently for the beta to join her and listened to his low whistle at the appearance of the other man. “Okay, shoot. What’s going on?”

“Bucky and I took in an omega last night,” Steve said gently. “But… Turns out she was mated to, and then held captive, by Rumlow.”

Clint’s face hardened and he walked off-screen swearing. Natasha’s eyes widened at the reaction, and she glanced from one man to the other, saw the grim expression on Steve’s face, and waited until the beta next to her calmed. “So, you need me for counselling,” she guessed with a long sigh; she knew well who the men were talking about.

“And, though they’re fresh, she’ll have stitches that will have to come out in a week or so,” Steve said. “If she already trusts someone to do it…”

“Yeah, of course,” Clint agreed. “I don’t want her to feel like we’re ganging up on her though.”

“We’ll give it a few days before introductions happen,” Rogers said with a nod. “But, wanted you guys to know. If we call suddenly and say we need you…”

“We’re there,” Natasha agreed. “Of course. How is she handling Duke?”

A small smile crossed his face. “He’s her shadow, Nat. Has been since we hit the hospital.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” she said with a laugh. “Step in the right direction. And he’s so well-trained, it should help.”

“She also talked to the twins last night.”

“Really?” Clint asked with surprise.

Steve shrugged. “She was so scared, and I think worried that coming back here, she might never leave again,” he replied. “She asked about the others, meaning others that had been here before, and Fury offered to call someone who had stayed with us. So, he video-called the twins. I don’t know what they said to her, but she agreed after that.”

“They had a rough go of it, and you and Bucky helped a lot,” Natasha said with a gentle smile. “It might help if she met them, too. But we’ll see how it goes.”

Steve nodded. “Okay, Bucky needs to go shopping for food, and clothes for her. Izabelle didn’t fall asleep until after the sun came up, so I have no idea when she’ll wake up. But I don’t want the main room empty just in case.”

“If she finally feels like she’s somewhere safe, she might sleep for a long time,” Natasha cautioned.

“It’s been a while, but I remember,” he replied with a smile. “We’ll talk soon.”

He disconnected the line and downed what was left of his coffee. Steve read through the file briefly, though it didn’t tell him anything Fury hadn’t already gone over, and he let out a heavy sigh before he stood and stretched, popping muscles and cracking his back. He needed more coffee.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve wandered out to the kitchen and found Bucky had cooked a frittata and pancakes while he had been busy. With a grin, the blond walked up behind his lover and wrapped his arms around Bucky’s waist. “I would have cooked,” Steve murmured.

“You were busy,” Bucky replied easily. “Besides, I was hungry.” He turned and kissed the blond roughly, then pulled back. “Eat, before it all gets cold.”

The men settled at the kitchen island and ate in a comfortable silence, though Bucky reached over and turned on the radio, letting music fill the space. Once they were full, Steve cleared the dishes and glanced down the hall and let out a long sigh; though he knew she might likely sleep the day away, it made him a little anxious.

“She’s safe, and part of her knows it,” Bucky replied. “It’s just been a while since we’ve done this.”

“I think that’s what it is,” Steve replied. Almost two years since the twins had first arrived at their home, he had forgotten how long the process was in the beginning. He sat back down at the table and took Bucky’s left hand, massaging up his forearm and the stiff muscles there. “Do you know what you’re buying? And are you sure you don’t want me to go?”

“My arm isn’t great, but it’s not useless,” Barnes replied with a playful frown. “And I called Sam while you were busy; he’s coming to help.” At the mention of their physiotherapist friend, Bucky watched Steve smile and nod. “As for what I’m getting, not sure yet. Basics for food; don’t know what she’s been allowed to eat, do we? And I figure underwear, sports bras, yoga pants and t-shirts for now. Anything else she wants; we can order online.”

“It’s weird when they haven’t started in a temporary safe house before us,” Steve admitted. “Usually they have some things ahead of getting here.”

Bucky shrugged and kissed Steve’s knuckles briefly. “We usually have the basics if they need it; for omegas or betas. It’s just clothes that we’re never prepped for,” he reminded his lover. It was true; neutral-scented soaps and shampoos they kept in stock, just in case, even though it had been over a year. It also helped that if they had someone like Clint or Sam that had been working out and needed to use the shower. They also kept the linens washed separately so that they did not carry the scent of alpha on them, and the bedroom was kept closed; scent diffusers were kept on-hand. Bucky shook his head; Steve was such a prepared boy scout it made him smile.

“I’ll use the shower downstairs, so I don’t wake her, and slip out to get everything. Call if you think of anything, or need me,” Bucky said softly

“Of course,” Steve agreed. He caught his arm and kissed the other man soundly before he could walk away. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Bucky murmured.

*****

Steve heard the SUV pull away, and decided to go check on Izabelle when he heard Duke’s high-pitch whines coming from the bedroom, and the scent of petrified omega hit him. Rushing into the room to hear terrified whimpers and another harsher scent hit his nostrils, more acrid, and his heart broke. She had urinated on herself.

Izabelle sat in the corner, huddled into a ball with her arms over her head as she sobbed, begging, “P-p-please don’t…”

“Izabelle,” Steve said gently, crawling towards her from the door. He didn’t want to loom over her for a second, knowing it would only heighten her fear.

The scent of alpha hit her, and her breathing grew ragged, but her mind registered something different. There were no waves of anger, no sounds of laughter at her fear, no hands had grabbed at her hair or arms.  _ It could be a trick. _ Izabelle still took the risk and looked up. The face that looked at her was familiar and radiated concern. She became aware of the fact that her arm was wet and looked over to see a dog licking her upper arm repeatedly, and she frowned. “What…?”

“I think you had a bad dream, Izabelle. My name is Steve. Do you remember me?”

She nodded, then looked down at herself and realized what she had done; her face flushed scarlet and she tried to pull her shirt down lower. Izabelle knew he could smell it, and was mortified, couldn’t believe what her body had done out of habit.  _ But it was the only way she could try to stop him from… _

She scrambled past Steve, through to the bathroom and retched, even though all she had in her stomach was bile. Movement at the doorway caught her attention, but another hard shudder ran through her body, hard enough that her eyes watered, and her teeth chattered.

Steve took a chance and knelt behind her, not too close, held Izabelle’s hair. When her body finally relaxed, she started to slump back against him but froze. “I’m covered in…”

“It’s okay,” he assured her softly, one hand gently on her shoulder and encouraging her to lean back. “How about a bath? Bucky went out to get you some clothes, so I don’t have much to offer right now other than a t-shirt that is probably huge on you, and maybe a pair of drawstring PJ pants we could probably get small enough?”

A small smile ghosted across her face and she nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she agreed.

Steve waited until she let him go, then worked to get the tub running. He added bubble bath, then turned and said, “I’ll leave and give you some privacy.”

“No!” she begged; eye wide.

Steve froze, saw her ragged breathing, and knelt to touch her cheek tenderly around the bruises. “I’ll stay if you want me to, Izzy.” When she nodded, he gave a small nod and helped her to her feet. He averted her gaze while she struggled to remove her wet garments and climbed into the bubbly water, then bent to scoop up her discarded clothing.

“I can do that,” she protested.

“I don’t mind,” he assured her, dumping it into the clothes hamper. “Duke is going to stay with you, I just need five minutes to check the bedroom. Okay? I promise I’ll be right back.”

Izabelle nodded slightly and watched him go. Duke sat just outside the tub, his head resting on the edge of the porcelain, and watched her closely, which made her smile. The heat hurt every bruise on her body but warmed the icy feeling that had invaded her.

Steve cleaned the floor where Izabelle had been sitting, checked and saw the sheets were dry. Though he hadn’t been looking directly, he had caught a glimpse of her in the mirror; nearly every inch of her skin was purple or black but yellowed around the edges. He worked to calm himself and changed into dry pants – the little time she had leaned on him had been just enough for his own clothing to get wet – before he moved back into the bathroom. By then he was calm, and he was thankful; he couldn’t afford to frighten the young woman now.

Steve found her in almost the exact same position, though the body wash bottles had been moved. Pulling down a large body towel, he set it on the counter, next to the clothes he had brought in, and said, “You can soak as long as you’d like, but you should probably eat something; I don’t know the last time you had any food.”

“Yesterday…sometime,” she murmured, shrugging. Izabelle reached for the plug and let out the water and carefully pushed herself to stand. She watched as Steve turned away and flushed; she knew she must look awful if he couldn’t stand the sight of her. She delicately on the clothes he had brought and snorted, which drew his attention.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. The t-shirt looked nearly like a dress on her small frame, and she had tied the pants’ strings as tightly as she could, but the legs hung down past her toes. Kneeling at her feet, Steve rolled up the cuffs until she would be able to walk without risk of tripping.

“Let’s get you some food?” Steve suggested. When she nodded, he led the way out to the kitchen, saying, “If you’re ever hungry, you’re free to get whatever you want, Izzy; don’t feel you have to wait for either me or Buck.” He turned to see her staring at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Izzy?” She had noticed he had started calling her that and was curious because she was certain he was doing it unconsciously.

Steve grimaced and shook his head. “I’m sorry, it slipped out.”

“No, it’s… It’s okay,” she protested. “Just not… Not the last part of my name, okay?”

He processed that, realized Rumlow likely called her Belle and nodded. “Not a problem,” he agreed. “Now, do you like eggs? Scrambled?” When she nodded, he motioned her to sit and set about making her food. He watched her reach over to turn up the music that Bucky had left on and smiled.

Izabelle let him cook in silence; she just didn’t know what to say. She was half-way through her food when the front door opened. She jumped off the chair and dropped the glass of water that was half-way to her lips, barely hearing it shatter on the floor. Her eyes glued on the men walking in, both of whom had frozen on her reaction.

Steve stepped carefully over the glass and into her line of sight; caught her gaze, let her catch his scent, and offered a small smile. “Izzy?” he asked tentatively.

“Who’s that?” she whispered, peering around him to the dark-skinned man holding bags and looking sheepish.

“His name is Sam,” Steve said gently. “He’s a beta and a friend of ours. He helped Bucky with the shopping because he can’t carry too much.”

Instantly her face changed from afraid to concerned. “Why?”

Waving the men closer, Steve indicated Bucky’s left arm and the scarring that ran along his skin. “Sam is a physiotherapist, but we’ve known him for years,” Bucky explained, having heard the conversation. “He was making sure I didn’t overdo it with carrying too much. I’m sorry; I should have messaged when we pulled in, I didn’t mean to startle you, Izabelle.”

She shook her head and looked past the alphas to the beta who was unpacking the groceries; she watched him from the tops of her eyes. As if he felt her gaze, the man turned and offered a small smile and leaned on the counter, not approaching. “I’m sorry,” Izabelle murmured.

“Nah, I’m the one who should be saying that,” Sam replied, waving his hand. “I’ve worked with omegas and betas who were in safehouses before; knew better than to barge in. We were talking, and I didn’t even think. My bad, girl, and I’m sorry.”

Izabelle couldn’t help but grin slightly at his laid-back attitude and broad smile. She turned to clean up the glass, but Steve was already taking care of it, earning a frown from her. “I could have…”

“I know. But you were eating, and your eggs are getting cold,” Steve reminded her.


	5. Chapter 5

"You were eating, and your eggs are getting cold,” Steve reminded her.

Nodding, Izabelle slipped back onto the stool to eat, watched as Steve and Bucky shared a quick kiss hello, before the blond’s phone rang. “Hello?... Bruce, hi… Yeah, Pepper mentioned you’d be calling… Yeah, tomorrow works,” he said, watching as Izabelle stiffened, her eyes darting to watch him. “10am? Sure. We’ll be there… See you then. Bye.”

Tucking the phone back in his pocket, Steve sat on the chair next to Izabelle and watched her closely. “Pepper told you that we need to stop by the clinic, so you can be fully checked out?” he asked softly. When she nodded wordlessly, Steve reached out and touched her knee, grinning as Duke pushed at his fingers as well. “Izabelle, you won’t be alone unless you want to be; Bucky or I will stay with you every second if that’s what you want.”

She blinked at him, then looked at Bucky, who stood silently near the sink watching her, and she frowned. “You promise?” she whispered.

Bucky smiled gently and nodded. “We promise,” he assured. When she nodded wordlessly, he turned to the bags of clothes. “Sam and I bought you some things, but I know it won’t be nearly enough. So, how about once you’re done eating, you can change into something that fits a little better, and we can go shopping online?”

Izabelle swallowed what was in her mouth and frowned. “You’re spending so much…”

Steve touched her shoulder and smiled. “And we’re in a position that we can,” he assured. “Believe me, it’s all right, Izzy.”

She nodded and finished eating, her eyes lingering on the cup of coffee Bucky poured for himself, but when he noticed, she looked away. He grinned and said, “Did you want some, Izabelle?”

“I do, but…”

“Might be hard on your stomach,” Sam said gently from where he stood. When she nodded, he said, “I was gonna get the guys to put the kettle on for tea. How about a cup of that?” When Izabelle nodded slightly, Sam glanced at the men with a small grin.

Bucky set up the kettle and turned back to Izabelle. “I’ll grab the laptop to go shopping, but would you be more comfortable in the living room?” She nodded and he smiled slightly. “I’ll take the bags to the bedroom so you can change first, then meet you in there.”

Izabelle watched him go, and Steve patted her leg gently to draw her attention. “I’ll make your tea and bring it in when it’s ready; Sam and I will be downstairs. Time for a workout, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed with a small smile. Izabelle moved through to her bedroom, saw the bags of clothes on the bed. Duke jumped up and she watched him nose through everything after she dumped it out on the bed. The sight of underwear stopped her; she couldn’t think of the last time she had been allowed to wear them. Swallowing a hard lump in her throat, she grabbed a pair and a pair of proper-fitting yoga pants. Izabelle fore-went the bra and another shirt, knowing that for the moment, it would only hurt her back and ribs. She kept the men’s over-sized shirt, knowing it hid her body for now, which made her feel more at ease.

She wandered back to the living room, Duke ever-present next to her, and found Bucky on the couch with the computer open on his lap. She sat on his left side and cuddled up against his arm, staring down onto the screen as he pulled up a website for clothes almost instantly. When she frowned up at him, he chuckled and shrugged against her.

“We’ve used this site before when we’ve had omegas stay with us,” he explained gently. “They ship fast, have a wide range of clothing styles and sizes. And you can buy an entire wardrobe from them.”

Steve walked out, changed into sweatpants and a tank top, to set a mug of tea on the table. He smiled when he noticed her still wearing his shirt, and said, “I’ll be downstairs if either of you need me. Have fun.”

“Have fun, punk,” Bucky said with a grin. “Don’t work Sam too hard.”

Chuckling, Steve nodded and smiled at Izabelle before he disappeared downstairs with Sam.

Izabelle watched them go, then turned back to the screen as Bucky asked her what she wanted. “It’s… It’s been a while since I’ve had…anything,” she admitted.

Barnes took a deep breath at the soft confession and rested his cheek on the top of her head, glad she cuddled further into his arm. “Then let’s get you a little of everything, huh?” he suggested. When she gave the smallest of nods of agreement, he smiled.

The pair spent the next hour and a half going through and picking out jeans, shorts, tank tops, blouses, proper bras, sandals, and shoes. They set up her entire wardrobe, while Izabelle gave quiet input and snuggled into his scarred arm.

Steve and Sam came up to the top of the stairs and spied the pair, Steve grinning slightly at the sight. Though she still spoke very little, Izabelle seemed to be comfortable being close with the pair of them, and for that, Steve was thankful. The men moved into the kitchen to grab drinks and cool down, leaving the other two alone for now.

“She’s in rough shape,” Sam commented softly, noting the music starting in the other room.

Glancing over with a grin, Steve let out a long sigh and nodded. “Hiding from an ex, who held her in a shed,” he admitted, keeping his voice low. “We’re not sure for how long.”

“Long enough,” Sam admitted. “I’m guessing walking isn’t easy for her, so she’s got muscle wastage. The bruising on her arms show whoever the dick was, he had experience with knots.”

Taking a long swallow of water, Rogers worked to calm his temper before he could growl and said, “Ex-military.”

His eyebrows rising, Sam glanced into the other room and noticed the omega dozing off against Bucky’s side. “And she’s still here with you two?”

“We didn’t tell her; Fury thought it best if she didn’t know,” Steve replied with a sigh, nodding when he saw the other man's frown of disapproval. “I know she probably won’t be happy, but right now, it’s one step at a time. She's safe, and she's learning to trust. When he got to the hospital... It wasn't good, Sam.”

“Damn, man. What a mess. I should get going; need to shower and figure out dinner. And leave you to do the same,” Sam said, offering his hand. “Tell your other half I’ll message him about therapy; just because Izabelle’s here, doesn’t stop his work.”

Steve chuckled and nodded, seeing him to the door. “I’ll make sure he knows.” Closing the front door, he turned back to the kitchen and took chicken and vegetables from the fridge, seasoned everything and put it all into the oven. He set the timer and wandered back out into the living room. Taking the laptop from Bucky, he settled on his other side and wrapped his arm around him, kissing his cheek. “Dinner’s in the oven; be ready in about forty-five minutes,” he said softly.

Barnes nodded and turned into his face. “Mind taking over here for a minute? Need a bathroom break.”

Grinning, Steve nodded and slid in next to Izabelle while Bucky extracted himself, leaving the blond to help her cuddle into his side. Steve wrapped an arm carefully around her back and let her bury her face against his chest as he propped his feet against the table, shushing her softly as she whimpered in her sleep. “Shhh, Izabelle; you’re safe,” he murmured. One of her hands came up to clutch at his shirt and he kissed her forehead. “Izzy, wake up for me.”

She came to with a gasp and looked around in confusion, pulling away from Steve. He let her go, and she looked up at him with a heavy frown until her mind cleared, and Izabelle licked her lips. “Sorry.”

Steve tapped her nose and gently urged her back against his chest. “No apologies,” he reminded her softly. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Izzy; you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Izabelle curled her legs onto the couch, against his thigh and leaned further into his chest, smiling as Duke jumped onto the couch behind her and snuggled into her. Bucky rejoined them and leaned into Steve’s far side, turning on a movie. The trio sat in a comfortable silence until the oven timer buzzed.

“I’ll take it out,” Bucky offered, giving Steve a quick kiss before he moved to the kitchen.

“I made chicken, broccoli, potatoes, and peppers,” Steve said softly. “I don’t expect you to eat everything since I’m not sure what you like, nor what your stomach can handle. The seasoning is light, so that shouldn’t be too hard, but don’t take anything you don’t want, okay?”

Izabelle nodded and glanced up at him. They moved out to the kitchen and her stomach rumbled at the scent of the food; she could not remember the last time she had been allowed to eat full, hot meals on a regular basis. Rumlow wanted her to eat, but it was usually a stack of food once a day, and it was cold. She stared at the full, hot dish Bucky was serving his plate from but felt arms close around her and blinked hard, letting out a shaky breath.

“Deep breath, Izzy,” Steve said gently. He knew it was baby steps, but it hurt him that simply the sight of a second hot meal in a day would throw her off.

She nodded and took a deep, calming breath, leaning into him for a moment. When her mind was fully back into the present, she nodded again and stepped forward to cut one of the chicken breasts in half and dish it onto a plate with some of the vegetables.

“Back to the movies while we eat?” Bucky asked.

Izabelle gave a small nod and the trio ventured back into the living room. She stayed silent the rest of the evening, and when they curled up for the night, she fell asleep with her back tucked in tight against Steve’s chest. Bucky spooned up against the blond’ back, his arm wrapped around them both, and Duke lay across their feet, snoring softly.

*****


	6. Chapter 6

“I can’t go,” Izabelle whispered, her voice tinged with fear. She had been nervous all morning, but when it came time for them to go, she simply could not leave the house. Her heart raced, her stomach was in knots, and she shivered where she sat in the corner.

Bucky worked to calm her down while Steve called the clinic. “Bruce, hey… Yeah, we’re running a little behind here… Perfect, thanks. Yeah, we’ll see you at some point.”

Steve tucked his phone away and knelt in front of where she was tucked into a ball. “Sweetheart, they’ll see us whenever we get there, there’s no rush,” he assured her.

“Someone will see me,” she replied. “Jack will know and tell him where I am.”

Bucky cleared his throat and said, “What if I bring someone over who can tap into the surveillance they have on Rollins, and show you exactly where he is?”

Izabelle turned to him with wide eyes, asking, “You can do that?”

“Pepper’s mate is a big tech genius, and it’s probably his technology they’re using,” Bucky replied. “Tony would come over and let you see if we asked him.”

Her eyes turned back to Steve, who nodded affirmatively in response. “Please?”

Bucky pulled out his phone and called. “Tony,” he said when the other end picked up.

“Hey, Barnes. Hear you’ve got a new omega there,” Stark replied.

“Yeah, and we could use some help reassuring her,” Bucky replied. “Mind coming over and tapping into some surveillance for us?”

He chuckled on the other end of the line. “Can do. I’m working out of the home office, so I’ll be there in a flash.”

“Thanks,” Bucky replied. He hung up and turned to Steve and Izabelle. “He’ll be here in just a few minutes; he’s at home.”

Steve reached out a hand and helped Izabelle from the corner. “He’s probably going to need to use my office. Do you want to head in there?” he asked. When she nodded, Steve glanced at Bucky, who waved at him to go ahead. Rogers led her inside and over to the couch, and once he was sitting, she curled immediately into his lap.

Bucky walked in several minutes later with Stark, to find her sitting across Steve’s lap, her head buried against his chest. Barnes smiled as she stared with wide eyes at the newcomer, and he introduced, “Izabelle, this is Tony Stark, Pepper’s mate.”

Stark, sensing her uncertainty, kept his voice low. “Hey, Kid. Hear you need to take a look at some people to feel better about leaving the house?”

Izabelle smiled at the phrasing and nodded slightly. Steve grinned as she raised her head, and he said, “You can use my computer, Tony.”

“Sure thing. So, who am I looking up?” he asked as he settled at in the swivel chair and glanced between the men.

Bucky’s eyes watched Izabelle from the corner of his eye as he said, “Jack Rollins.”

She swallowed hard and shuddered, hiding her face into Steve’s neck. He hugged her and met Tony’s eyes as the beta realized where the young woman had come from. Stark nodded and started typing away. It took little time before he said, “Got him.”

Steve walked her behind the desk and kept his arms around her just in case, as they saw the video of Rollins in his house. “See, Izzy? And I can promise, there are people outside watching him, too,” he assured her. “If he leaves, they’ll follow him.”

“And I can do one better, if you like,” Tony started typing again. He pulled up surveillance from inside a cell and showed Rumlow. “He’s not going anywhere either.”

Izabelle swallowed hard and leaned back against Steve. She nodded and looked at Stark. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Kid,” he assured, watching her with soft eyes at the quiet fear in her voice. “Need anything else, boys?”

“I think we’re good. Thanks, Tony,” Steve said quietly.

He nodded and gathered his things, following Bucky out. Steve watched him go, then turned to Izabelle. “Do you feel a bit better?” he asked gently.

“Yeah,” she admitted, glancing up at him. “A bit.”

“Think we can go to the clinic, and have you looked at properly?” When she stiffened, he reminded her, “One of us will be with you the entire time. I promise.”

“Okay.”

*****

Izabelle sat on the exam bed in a hospital gown, curled not a ball, shivering. She was thankful it was cotton, not paper; it was soft against her skin. Bucky sat behind her, Steve in front, facing her, while they waited. When the door opened, she jumped and looked over, a strange beta walking in with a gentle smile on his face.

“Hi Izabelle, my name is Bruce,” he introduced. “Bucky, Steve.” He watched her stare at him with wide eyes, and Bruce offered a small smile. “I know you’re nervous, Izabelle, but we’ll take this at your pace, all right? And the men can stay for the entire exam if you want.”

“Okay,” she whispered. She followed his instructions and lay back, taking each of the men’s hands. Izabelle zoned out for most of the exam, but when it came time for the internal, she pulled Steve down closer, her breathing uneven.

He pressed his forehead against hers, then slid down until their cheeks touched so he could murmur softly into her ear. “I’m here, sweetheart; Bucky and I both are. Take deep breaths for me, okay? Try to relax for me.” He kept a mantra going, trying to keep her distracted and let her know she wasn’t alone, until after Bruce pulled away and she blinked her eyes open. “You with me, Izzy?”

She nodded and relaxed her grip on his hand, blowing out a breath as she felt tears fall into her hairline. “Sorry.”

Bucky reached out to wipe at the tears that fell, tapping her nose. “No apologies, Izzy. Believe me, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Bruce took out a second sheet and folded, saying, “I’m going to use this to cover your breasts, and get you to take off the gown; your lower body will stay covered with the lower sheet. “I want to check the stitches, and run an ultrasound, all right?”

Izabelle nodded and shimmied out of the gown while Steve and Bucky laid the sheet over the top of her. She shivered at the gel he squirted onto her skin. She squeezed the men’s hands and zoned out as he pressed against her lower abdomen.

Bruce took images and explored, frowning heavily and shaking his head. When he pulled back and wiped the gel from her stomach, he quickly assessed the stitches on her body then told the men to help her dress and sit up.

Once Izabelle was upright and wrapped in the soft cotton gown again, Bruce gave her a gentle smile. “Your bruising seems to be improving quickly, from the notes I see that Pepper made,” Bruce commented softly.

“Joys of being an omega; made to take a beating and keep on ticking,” she said, paraphrasing the battery’s saying.

The men in the room shared a startled look at the dark tone in her voice before Bucky leaned down to kiss her forehead. “But that’s not all you are, Izzy,” he assured. “And that’s not why you’re meant to heal so quickly.”

Izabelle nodded, but was distracted when Bruce asked, “When was your last heat?”

She swallowed and averted her eyes, shrugging. “I don’t… It’s been a while, but I couldn’t tell time much in there.”

Bruce nodded and offered her a gentle smile. “Pepper ran some bloodwork when she saw you in the hospital, and between that and what I can tell from your physical exam, I think it’ll be about four to six weeks before your next one. But I want to see you before then to check in, okay?”

Izabelle nodded slightly. “Okay.”

“Did you ever become pregnant, Izabelle?” Bruce asked gently.

She nodded slightly and swallowed. “I think I miscarried when I was…” Izabelle’s voice died off, and she shook her head and stared off to the side, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. “But he… He was furious about it. He wanted me tied to him, I think, and a baby would do that.”

Bruce nodded slightly and made notes. “From what I can tell, you’re still healthy, no permanent damage, Izabelle. The bloodwork the nurse took will give me a better idea, but I don’t think the reason you couldn’t conceive was on your end,” Bruce explained gently. “Some of the sutures look like they can come out in a day or so, but the deeper ones will have to be left just a little longer to make sure the wounds don’t dehisce. You can call when you’re ready, or the men can remove them at home; I know you have experience with that, gentlemen. You’re free to leave when you’re dressed. If you need anything, have one of the either Steve or Bucky call me anytime, day or night, Izabelle,” Bruce instructed. “I’ll leave some prescriptions with the front desk for antianxiety medications, in case you have trouble sleeping if you feel like you need them. And don’t worry, they’re standard prescriptions for omegas in safehouses.”

She nodded and watched him go, letting out a shaky breath. Her body shivered and every part of her wanted to crawl under a blanket and hide. Though he had been gentle, the doctor had inspected every inch of her body, leaving her feeling cold and exposed. Izabelle blinked when she noticed the dark-haired alpha’s scent surrounding her and looked up to see him sitting on the bed in front of her.

“How about we get you changed and head home?” he asked quietly.

“Okay,” she whispered.

Steve touched her chin and drew her attention. “Do you want me to go get your meds while you change, to make it go faster?” When she nodded, he grinned and tapped her nose. “See you in a minute, then.”

Bucky stood and gathered her clothes, helped her change and slipped sandals onto her feet, then helped her stand. He kept an arm around her, felt how cold she felt and pulled her close against his side. They found Steve at the desk being handed a small paper bag, who took in the sight of Izabelle tucked in against the dark-haired alpha and wordlessly led the way out to the car.

Bucky drove home; once they had been outside, Izabelle had transferred to Steve’s arms. Barnes had grinned, and neither alpha took offense; it was whoever she found comfortable, and that was all that mattered. Izabelle cuddled against Steve while they were buckled in in the back seat.

Steve carried her inside once they were home and to the couch, where the pair cuddled onto the couch and Bucky made a late lunch. Izabelle hadn’t wanted to eat before they went, afraid nothing would stay down.

*****


	7. Chapter 7

“I have some friends that I’d like you to meet,” Steve said softly. They were sitting on the couch the evening the day after the clinic visit; the alphas cuddled at one end, Izabelle’s feet in the men’s laps. Her eyes met theirs and she frowned slightly, stayed silent, but they could smell her fear. Duke, who had been laying on the floor sat up and put his head in her lap. Steve rubbed her shin and smiled reassuringly. “Nat is a therapist; she’s worked with omegas we’ve had in our care in the past. Her mate, Clint, is a nurse,” he continued. “I’d like to have them over for dinner, just for you to meet them.”

Izabelle swallowed hard and stared at her hands in her lap. She wanted to curl into a ball and hide, but both of the men touching her legs were offering calming waves. “Is… Is one of them an alpha?” she whispered.

“Natasha is,” Bucky confirmed. He watched her lick her lips and start chewing the inside of her cheek. “Clint is a beta.”

“How long have you known them?” her eyes flicked up and she stared at their chins.

“I’ve known Clint for close to twenty years,” Steve replied with a small smile. “I’ve known Bucky here for thirty if that helps.”

“And we met Nat from Clint; they’ve been together for about twelve years now,” Bucky replied.

Izabelle nodded after a few moments thought. “Okay,” she replied. “And can… Can I have a phone?”

The men studied her, and Steve slowly nodded. “Is there anyone, in particular, you wanted to contact?”

She realized instantly what was wrong; the safehouses were almost like witness protection. No one from her past should know where she was. “Wanda,” she replied. “Pietro said they would tell Fury I could have their numbers.”

“Of course,” Bucky replied, relaxing slightly. Though both he and Steve knew she was terrified of Rumlow, often omegas felt a pull to the past and a need to contact their abusers. The men had instantly been concerned Izabelle may have wanted that, despite her obvious fear. “C’mon, let’s look online at what you might like, and we can order it. We’ll get express shipping and should be here by tomorrow if we order early enough.”

Izabelle nodded as the dark-haired alpha went to get his laptop and came back to sit next to her on the couch, and they started going through models on the computer. She realized a lot had changed in the last few years with cell phones. Bucky gave her his and she caught on quickly enough. “This isn’t so bad,” she murmured.

“Then how about the same one?” he suggested, pointing it out on the screen. “If you can use mine, may as well get the same one.

“All I really want it for is texting,” she said with a sigh, noting it was a mini-computer.

“I know. But, if it’s easy for you to use, then it makes sense to order that one, doesn’t it?” When Izabelle nodded slightly, Bucky grinned and clicked to order. “Good; should be here tomorrow for you. And I’ll help you set it up, and put in the twins’ numbers, mine and Steve’s. And I know Pepper and Bruce wanted you to have theirs as well. You’ll be set.”

“Thank you.”

Kissing the side of her head, he chuckled. “Not a problem, Izzy.”

*****

A few days later, Izabelle had been texting with the twins, and Wanda had been reassuring her about both Natasha and Clint; they had met during the twin’s recovery. Izabelle knew the couple was coming over for dinner, and she was trying to keep herself calm, but her anxiety was running high. She had spent most of the day cuddled in Steve’s lap, Duke’s head on her legs while she tried not to shiver. Even though she knew the men would never bring over anyone who would hurt her. Bucky kept offering to call and cancel, but Izabelle insisted against that; she knew she needed to meet more people since coming out of captivity.

The knock on the door came just after six o’clock, and Izabelle stood just behind Steve in the living room while Bucky answered the door, letting the couple in. She leaned into his arm and rested her cheek against his bicep as he reached his arm back to rest his hand gently on her waist, Duke pressed against her legs.

Natasha studied the young woman, smelled the unease, and offered a bright smile to Steve instead. “Hey, Muscles,” she greeted.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Hey yourself. Clint,” he said with a smile. Steve took the omega’s hand and turned slightly to bring her in against the front of his body. “Izabelle, this is Natasha and Clint. Guys, this is Izzy.”

The couple stayed near the couch, and Izabelle could scent nothing but concern coming from them, their expressions gentle but not pitying. She swallowed and nodded at them. “Hi.”

“Do you prefer Izabelle or Izzy?” Natasha asked.

“I…” Her voice faltered and she frowned; she wasn’t used to being asked what she wanted. “Izzy is good.”

Clint nodded with a grin. “It’s nice to meet you, Izzy.”

Bucky smiled as he noticed the omega starting to relax; her scent calmed considerably, and he shared a relieved glance with Steve. “Can I get anyone drinks?”

Izabelle sat quietly, observing the group mostly, though she commented when asked questions. She noticed that Natasha and Clint were subdued, and knew it was likely because of her, but they were casually affectionate with one another. Their easy demeanour helped her calm down, and by the time they ate, Izabelle was relaxed and clung less to Steve; even Duke was giving her some space.

The group settled into the living room after dinner with drinks and full stomachs, to talk. But Clint noticed Izabelle kept scratching at her side and frowning. “Everything okay there, Izzy?”

She flushed and shrugged slightly. “My stitches are bothering me,” she replied softly.

Setting his drink down, he studied her and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know if the guys told you, but I’m a nurse,” Clint said gently. “Will you let me look at them? I think you’ve had them for a while now; some of them might be ready to come out.”

When her breathing stuttered, Steve leaned over to kiss her head. “I’ll come with you,” he assured.

“Absolutely. I would never expect you not to bring one of them,” Clint agreed with a nod.

Izabelle licked her lips and nodded. She glanced at Bucky, who kissed her forehead. “I’ll be here,” he promised.

“Okay,” she agreed.

Clint pushed to his feet and looked at Izabelle. “Where would you prefer to do this?”

She licked her lips and looked at Steve. She didn’t want to use the master bedroom; it was where they slept. But her own room was a nest for comfort and hiding. “I don’t…”

“Let’s use the spare room,” he suggested. “It’s a neutral space.”

The trio moved off, and Natasha looked at Bucky once they were alone. “How are you doing with everything?” she asked softly.

Bucky’s eyes trailed after them and he smiled humourlessly. “Of all the fucking people, Rumlow?” he growled softly as he turned back to her. Sighing, he shook his head. “I’m okay, mostly. She clings to Steve; you’ve noticed I’m sure. I don’t mind; I’ve done it myself.” Bucky grinned. “I want to kill the bastard.”

“Hopefully this time, he won’t ever get out and away with anything,” Natasha replied with a sigh.

“He won’t stop until he’s dead,” Bucky replied. “If they let him into the general population in prison, and they hear what he’s done to an omega? Then they should take care of him.”

“If he doesn’t kill a bunch of them and start a riot first,” Natasha replied, then groaned. “What a mess.”

Bucky chuckled. “Isn’t it though?”

In the bedroom, Clint opened up a bag of sterile supplies and turned to her with a gentle smile to see her hugging herself tightly. “No rush, Izzy; whenever you’re ready.”

She swallowed hard and turned to Steve. Staring into his eyes, she pulled her shirt over her head; he had seen the wounds but scented the momentary flare of anger at her appearance from Clint. She whimpered and cringed, bowing her head, Duke licked her hand in response.

“Sorry, that wasn’t professional at all, was it?” Clint asked in embarrassment. He shook his head and studied her back and the multitude of stitches she had, watched as she crossed her arms over her breasts and turned, saw the wounds cross around onto her ribs. “I’d like to start by removing every other stitch, but since there’s so many, would you be more comfortable laying down?”

Izabelle nodded silently. She watched Steve arrange the pillows and lay back on them, then opened his arm for her. Smiling gratefully, she crawled to lay on her stomach, resting her head against his ribs and faced him. Duke had hopped up on the far side of the bed and stretched out on Steve’s other side; Izabelle reached one hand over to stroke his head.

Clint climbed on the bed and knelt next to her, laying out the scissors, tweezers, and a garbage bag. He opened the sterilized instruments and started the long process of removing them. “We going running this weekend, Steve?”

“You think you can keep up?” the alpha responded teasingly. The pair teased back and forth, but Steve could see the banter helped keep Izabelle relaxed; he had noticed she hated silence, often turning on the television or radio.

Izabelle listened to the pair, smiling on occasion, and stared into Steve’s eyes as he stroked her hair. She heard Clint say that he was removing all of the stitches from a few of the smaller wounds and nodded in response. She turned over when instructed, and Clint removed the threads from the wounds on her ribs.

By the time Clint was finished, Steve noticed her skin was cold and she was shivering. He looked a question, and when the beta nodded, Steve rolled onto his side and curled himself around her.

“I’m okay,” she murmured, even as she buried her face further into his chest to pull in the safety of the alpha’s scent.

Sharing a grin with Clint, Steve nodded. “I know you are, sweetheart. But you’re cold, so I just want to warm you up,” he murmured softly.

“I’ll see you again soon, Izzy,” Clint said gently. He saw her nod and smiled at Steve, letting himself out of the room.

“How did she handle it?” Natasha asked gently when she saw her mate.

“Better than I expected, given how bad she looked,” he admitted. “I had to leave some in on the deeper wounds; they can come out in a few more days. I don’t want to risk them re-opening. But shit, she’s a mess, Nat.”

They heard movement down the hall, and Bucky grinned to see Steve carrying Izabelle into their room, Duke following close behind. Natasha climbed to her feet, drawing his attention, and she smiled as she pulled on her coat.

“Go, look after her. Make sure she has my number, and we can start talking whenever she wants,” Natasha assured.

The couple left and Bucky locked up the house, turning off the lights as he moved through to the bedroom. Steve lay curled around Izabelle’s back, Duke across her feet, and Bucky smiled at the sight. He crawled into the bed and opened his arm to her to allow her to curl onto his chest, uncertain if she would; being curled between the men might make her feel trapped, so they took things slowly. But Izabelle eagerly moved forward to lay her head on his chest, over his heart and pulled Steve in against his back.

“You two smell…safe,” she murmured, her eyes drooping slowly closed.

Smiling at Bucky over her head, Steve kissed her shoulder. “I’m glad,” he said gently. “Get some rest, Izzy.”

“I’ve been sleeping so much,” she protested grumpily.

Bucky chuckled. “You’re catching up, Freckles. You’re allowed to.”

“Freckles?” Izabelle asked as she opened her eyes a slit to look up at him.

“Yeah; you’ve got a bunch starting to show up, now that the bruising is going down,” he replied, kissing the top of her head.

Izabelle giggled, a sound the men had never heard from her and they shared a surprised look. “I suppose it’s a redhead thing,” she muttered sleepily.

“Sleep, Freckles,” Bucky said with a chuckle.

“Yesss,” she agreed.

*****


	8. Chapter 8

A few days later, Steve was called for work to do an on-site assessment. He tried to find an associate to do it, but no one else was available and agreed reluctantly. Sam had come over and was working downstairs with Bucky on his physio, and Rogers was reluctant to leave Izabelle alone. “I can wait until Sam and Bucky are done if you need me to,” Steve said gently.

Izabelle shook her head and smiled. “It’s okay,” she replied. “You have work. Bucky’s here; I’ll be alright.”

He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. She had been getting better, but nightmares still plagued her, often leaving Izabelle curled in a corner of the bedroom in a ball. A quarter of the time, she had urinated on herself. Steve knew she was mortified about it, but neither alpha would mention it; Bucky would clean up while Steve calmed her down, often in the bath. Rogers had talked to Bruce, who had assured him that physically during her exam that nothing was wrong with Izabelle; it was psychological. It had been a few nights since her last nightmare, but Steve still hated leaving while Bucky was busy with his therapy. “I’ll make it quick,” he promised.

She watched him go and hugged herself, licking her lips. Izabelle sat with Duke her in lap for a while, before she felt like the skin was crawling up the back of her neck. She closed the drapes in the living room after she felt like she was being watched, paced for a while, then gave up and started down the stairs to join the men.

“She’s settling in okay?” Sam was asking, unaware that Izabelle was on the stairs.

“So far, so good,” Bucky replied with a grunt as he pulled up the weights, the other man spotting him. “Thank fuck for Duke; furry little shadow.”

Izabelle stayed on the landing and listened, knew she shouldn’t be, but couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, he’s a good dog, and trained well,” Sam agreed with a chuckle. “I’m glad she seems to be moving around as well as she seems to be. When I first saw her, I was worried Belle would have more mobility issues.”

The men paused when they heard a whimper on the stairs and Bucky set down the weights to investigate. The scent hit him just before he saw her; Izabelle was curled up, her arms over her head, Duke frantically pressed next to her as she gasped for breath. She quietly begged, “Please don’t, please…” And she had urinated on herself. Bucky realized what had triggered her; Sam had called her Belle. Steve had told him about Rumlow’s calling her by the nickname.

“Shit,” Barnes whispered. “Izzy, it’s Bucky,” he murmured, crouched low and reaching out to let her catch his scent. Sam started to come up the stairs behind him, but he held out one hand to stop him. “Freckles?”

She peeked from between her arms, her eyes were wide and frightened. “Please,” she whimpered.

“You’re safe, Izzy,” Bucky promised.

Izabelle swallowed hard and realized what she had done again. “I’m sorry…”

“No, no; none of that,” he insisted. “Come on, bath?” When she nodded, Bucky glanced back at Sam who just waved him to go; the alphas were lucky that their friends were understanding when they were taking care of omegas. Bucky lifted Izabelle in his arms and was thankful she cuddled close as he took her through to the master bathroom for a bubble bath.

Steve returned home to find Sam alone in the living room, and he frowned, immediately on alert. “What happened?”

“I fucked up, man. I’m sorry,” Sam replied heavily. “I called her Belle, and I didn’t know that was a trigger. She was on the stairway…”

Running a hand over his beard, Steve shook his head. “It’s not your fault; how could you know that her ex called her that? I should have mentioned it, I’m just as much to blame. Where is she now?”

“Bucky took her for a bath,” Sam replied. “She… She actually peed herself.”

“I have a feeling she used to do it to try and keep her ex from touching her,” Steve said softly. “Whether it always worked, I don’t know, but I think her body does it instinctually to try and stop it from happening.”

Running a hand over his head, Sam let out a heavy breath. “Damn,” he sighed. “That’s fucked up.” Sam groaned and pressed his fingers against his eyes. “Now I feel like shit.”

Steve smiled at him gently, reaching over to pat his shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Sam,” he assured. “You didn’t know.”

“Doesn’t make me feel any better,” he argued miserably. He sighed and shook his head. “I know this could take her a while to get back to rights, so I’m gonna go. But apologize to Izabelle for me, will you?”

“Of course, I will,” Steve agreed easily. “And take it easy, man. I’ll message you later.

Steve locked up the house after seeing the other man out and headed for the bedroom, found Izabelle curled up on Bucky’s chest, a heavy frown on her face as she turned to watch him walk in. Steve smiled at her gently and asked, “What’s with the frown?”

“Is he upset?”

“Who?” he asked in confusion, then realized. “Sam? No, Izzy, not at all. He wanted me to apologize to you; he didn’t know the name was a trigger for you.” Steve sat on the bed behind her and watched as she turned to continue frowning at him, making him reach out to tap her nose and smile at her. “Stop worrying, Izabelle. Everyone has setbacks at this stage, believe me.”

“Steve’s right,” Bucky agreed. “Izzy, this takes time. We know you’re frustrated, but you don’t just snap back from what you’ve been through.”

She growled softly and nodded, and Steve grinned to see her personality starting to show through more; she had some sass to her. “What do you want for dinner?” he asked.

“I’m getting a little tired of chicken,” she confessed, biting her lip.

“Want to try pizza?” Bucky asked. “Nothing spicy; the place we order from has mild pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, extra cheese? Anything else you like?”

“Bacon?” she asked hopefully.

Bucky chuckled and nodded. “Absolutely,” he agreed. “I’ll go call it in. And let’s go all out; cheesy bread, wings, and soda. It’ll give us leftovers for breakfast.”

Izabelle sat up as he climbed from the bed and hugged her knees to her chest as she faced Steve. He studied her face and watched a small frown form. Crossing his legs, he asked, “What is it, Izzy?”

Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she played with it, grimacing at the dry ends and sighed. “I’ve been thinking that I want to get my hair cut,” she admitted. “But… I don’t want to go to a salon.”

“I might have a solution for you there,” Steve admitted, chuckling as Duke stretched in his sleep and rolled onto his back, splayed out.

“Goofy animal,” Izabelle commented. “But, what solution?”

“You know we’ve told you there’s a network of houses for omegas and betas?” Steve asked. When she nodded, he continued. “We met a mated couple who also take in people; they live across the city, and Nakia is, among other things, trained as a stylist. T’Challa works in tech with Tony. I’m sure if we called her, she’d see you; and because they’ve taken care of omegas, she has a room in their house she works out of.”

Izabelle nodded and smiled slightly. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Forty minutes!” Bucky called from the kitchen.

“We were talking about a Lord of the Rings marathon,” Steve said. “What do you say we start with The Hobbit tonight? Work our way through all six?” When she smiled and nodded, he reached out a hand and helped her off the bed.

*****


	9. Chapter 9

Half-way through the second movie, Steve stretched out on the couch and Izabelle lay on top of him, and they fell sound asleep. Bucky grinned and cleaned up, feeding Duke the crusts of his pizza before going into the kitchen to wash the dishes. While he was drying them, he studied the pair with a small smile.

Izabelle’s bruises were fading, leaving behind the palest skin Bucky had ever seen; then he remembered she had been locked in a shed, away from the sunlight for years. His jaw clenched and he forced himself to take a deep breath to release the fury that rolled through him, and he felt Duke leaning against his leg; the dog was reacting to him. “I know, boy,” Bucky said softly, reaching down to rub behind his ears. Barnes growled as his anger flared again at the idea of Rumlow hurting the young woman, and he heard Duke whine softly.

With a glance into the living room, Bucky moved out back onto the deck with Duke following him and pulled out his phone. He walked out onto the grass, far enough away from the house so he wouldn’t be overheard and dialed.

“Is everything okay?” Natasha didn’t waste time with greetings.

“Izabelle’s fine; but I’m struggling,” Bucky admitted. He sat at their fire pit in the middle of the yard and stared own at Duke, who leaned into his legs. “I’m gonna kill him, Nat. Fuck, I wanna go find where they’re holding him and kill him. And I know Izabelle can’t see me like this.”

“Where are you now?”

“Firepit out back,” he replied. “She and Steve are asleep; they dozed off after dinner.”

“Okay, stay there, Clint and I are gonna head over,” she said. “Stay on the phone with me.”

“Come through the gate,” Bucky advised. They spoke on the phone until the couple arrived, and Barnes chuckled when he noticed the beta carrying marshmallows. “Thanks, guys.”

Natasha hugged him and shook her head. “Anytime; I know this situation is difficult for all of you,” she said softly. Reaching over to pat Duke’s head, she smiled and said, “Good boy.”

Clint was building a fire and had it lit quickly, settling down in one of the chairs and letting out a sigh. “I only know how upset I am, man,” he said gently. “And I wasn’t in that car that he tried to flip or looking after Izabelle day in and day out. So, I can’t imagine how much worse it is for you. You ever need this, just to get out, or go running, call. We’ll be here in a second.”

“And I appreciate that,” Bucky agreed with a long sigh, running his hands through his hair.

“What set you off tonight?”

He snorted and shook his head. “I was looking at her, and how pale her skin is, and I realized that she hasn’t seen the sun in… however long she was tied up,” Bucky admitted. “And that led me to think of all the things he might have done to her, and let Rollins do…”

“He let Rollins touch her?” Clint asked darkly when the other man’s voice died off.

Bucky sighed and nodded. “Izzy talks in her sleep,” he explained. “So, she hasn’t said it out loud while she’s been awake, but yeah; Rumlow shared.”

“Fucking hell,” Clint grumbled.

Natasha let the men vent; it was better out here than in front of Izabelle. “How is she doing, otherwise?” she asked gently.

Growling, he shook his head and checked behind him to make certain Izabelle was nowhere in sight. “Sam… He called her Belle, today,” Bucky admitted. “She was on the stairs to the basement, so we didn’t realize, and Rumlow used to call her that. It’s a trigger, and she panicked.

“Damn,” Natasha said softly.

“I got her calmed down, but we know it’s a slow process,” he said with a shrug. “It’s just…it’s different this time, because it actually involves us to a degree.”

“What a mess,” Clint commented, tossing the bag of marshmallows at Bucky.

“How’s Steve handling it?” Natasha asked.

Bucky sighed and opened the marshmallow bag, shoving a few onto one of the metal prongs before he twisted the bag and tossed it back. “Okay, I think; better than me,” he said with a small grin. “We don’t get to talk much.”

“No, I wouldn’t think so,” Clint agreed with a snort.

“And he might seem like he’s doing better, but he bottles,” Natasha said with a long sigh. “I’ll message him later, see if he needs to get a coffee and have his own vent session. It’s harder to get him away; I don’t want to separate him from Izzy for too long.”

Pulling back the marshmallows as they caught fire, Bucky blew them out and let them cool as he thought. “Today wouldn’t have been so bad if I had been upstairs with her, or she had started downstairs with Sam and me,” he explained with a heavy sigh. “She’s just not quite settled on her own yet, even with Duke.”

“Can’t say I blame her,” Clint muttered. “Being tied up in a shed and left alone, wondering when that asshole would come out to hurt you? Yeah, I’d be uneasy being left alone for a long while too.”

Natasha shook her head and let out a heavy sigh; her mate had a way of putting things in perspective. “It’ll be a long road, you’re right, hun.”

“Why do anything the easy way?” Bucky agreed with a chuckle.

“Now, are you two gonna hog the damned marshmallows, or what?” Natasha teased.

*****

Steve stretched slightly and looked around with a frown; the room was dim, and the credits rolled on the screen. Bucky was nowhere in sight, but he could smell the fire burning out back. Glancing down at the woman who was asleep on top of him, Steve studied her and grinned, stroking her hair. She snuggled into his chest and made a soft, contented sound. He could lay there for hours but knew if they did, there was a good chance he would not sleep through the night. He looked down and realized that Duke wasn’t with them and became concerned; it meant that Bucky wasn’t doing well, it was the only reason that the dog would have left Izabelle’s side.

Steve wanted to check on him immediately, but he could not leave Izabelle. Reaching into his pocket carefully, he texted,  _ “Babe, are you okay?” _

_ “Yeah, I’m all right. In the backyard with Nat and Clint.” _

Letting out a relieved sigh, Steve nodded.  _ “We’ll come to join in a few minutes.” _

He massaged Izabelle’s head gently, grinned as she blinked up at him as she woke slowly. “Hey there,” he greeted.

Izabelle realized she lay on top of his entire body and flushed, glancing around in confusion. “Where’s Bucky?”

“Out in the back with Nat and Clint,” Steve explained. “We have a fire pit; they’re roasting marshmallows. Want to go join?”

She pushed herself up to sit on the couch and chewed on her lip. “I… I can’t,” she whispered with wide eyes.

He remembered when she first arrived at the house and her fear of who might be watching her. Steve sat up and tucked hair behind her ear. “Sweetheart, you know they’re under surveillance,” he said gently.

“I know, I just…”

“We don’t have to go outside,” he assured when her voice died off.

“I don’t want them to think I’m avoiding them.”

Steve grinned and shook his head. “Will you be okay for five minutes, and I’ll see if everyone wants to come in and play a game instead?”

Izabelle swallowed and nodded. She watched Steve walk to the back door and whistled, grinning as Duke came galloping into the house to see her. Hugging him close, she whispered, “Thank you.”

“Five minutes,” he said quietly. Once she had nodded, he walked out and smiled at everyone, crouched down next to Bucky, kissed his cheek and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Brief bout of homicidal rage, but I’m all good now,” Barnes replied with a small grin. “Izzy?”

“Won’t come out into the yard,” Steve replied with a sigh. “You can all stay out here if you want, but I can’t join.”

“Then let’s move the party inside,” Clint said easily with a shrug. “You’ve got tons of board games. Let’s start with Trivial Pursuit and go from there!”

Steve smiled in relief and nodded. “Thanks, guys.”

“We haven’t had a game night in a while, so it’s not a hardship,” Natasha said with a broad grin. “Besides, I’m sugared-out!”

“I’ll put on the coffee and teapot,” Steve said with a laugh. “Meet you inside.” He wandered back into the house and nodded at Izabelle. “They’re just putting out the fire and headed inside for games. Nat said she’s had enough sugar!”

Izabelle nodded with a grin, but she felt guilty for bringing everyone inside. She sat at the kitchen island as the trio walked in, and Bucky walked over to kiss her forehead.

“Wipe that guilty look off your face, Izzy,” he murmured. “We have game nights, so tonight isn’t any different.”

“You had to come inside because of me,” she groused.

He pressed against her legs where she sat on the chair and rested his hands on her shoulders. “Izabelle, we chose to come inside so that you could be included,” Bucky said seriously. “We could have stayed outside and left you alone inside, but that wouldn’t have been fair to you. So, we made a decision. We didn’t  _ have  _ to, we  _ chose  _ to.”

She flushed and ducked her head, nodding slightly. “Okay,” she murmured.

“Okay,” he agreed, kissing her forehead.

Steve watched the exchange with a grin while he made the coffee and set up the kettle. The group played rounds Trivial Pursuit late into the night before they finally broke off until around one in the morning when Natasha and Clint left to go home. Izabelle’s head was drooping, and Steve picked her up to carry her to the bedroom.

“Just put me down, I have to pee,” she muttered, half-groaning. She listened to him chuckle as he put her down on her feet and she wandered to the bedroom to get ready for bed. She came back out in an oversized t-shirt and her underwear.

“Is that my shirt?” Steve asked, laughing. Izabelle shrugged as she climbed into bed between the men, half-draped across his body and pulling Bucky up against her back. The men listened to her hum contentedly, and the grinned at each other as Duke stretched out at their feet. “Sleep, sweetheart.”

“That was the plan,” she agreed.

*****


	10. Chapter 10

Izabelle felt someone in the bed moving and she grumbled, pulling the covers up over her head. Bucky watched her and chuckled, pulling the covers down enough to kiss her shoulder and said softly, “Go back to sleep.”

She nodded and cuddled further into Steve, listening to the other man leave, then realized that she was too awake to doze back off. Izabelle pulled the comforter back down and looked up to study Steve’s face while he slept. His face was relaxed, none of the worry lines between his brows that he seemed to have when he looked at her were there. Reaching up, she stroked his beard; the dark blond hair was softer than she expected and thick, but neatly trimmed. Her fingers ran along his forehead, over his nose and cheeks and along his throat to where it disappeared into his t-shirt. Izabelle felt him take a deep breath as he woke, and she pulled back her hand, blushing a deep shade of crimson.

Opening his eyes, Steve stretched and looked at her, curious at the flush covering her skin. “Everything okay there, Izzy?” She nodded but stayed quiet, making him wonder at her thoughts. “I messaged Nakia yesterday. If you feel up to it, she said she’ll see you today.” Steve felt her stiffen against him, and he stroked a hand down her back. “I’ll pull the car into the garage for you and Duke to get in; no one will see you.”

Izabelle took a deep breath to try and calm herself and nodded. “All right,” she agreed. She knew if she truly wanted to get her hair cut, she needed to leave the house. “I’m gonna go shower and wash my hair so it’s ready.”

He nodded and watched her go before going in search of coffee. Steve found Bucky in the living room on the computer and he smiled at the brunet as he poured himself a cup. “Morning, babe.”

Bucky grinned and set aside his work, opening his arm for Steve to come sit next to him. “Where’s Izzy?” he asked softly.

“We’re going to see Nakia later,” Steve explained. “She went to shower. Why? What’s with the face?”

Chuckling, Barnes shrugged. “I went back to ask Izzy if everything was okay because I thought I’d heard something. She was exploring your face; running her fingers over you lightly.”

“ _ That’s _ why she was blushing when I woke up,” Steve said softly with a grin. He shook his head and sighed. “She seemed so embarrassed, and I couldn’t figure out why. But it’s a good sign that she’s curious.”

“Makes me wonder how close we are to her heat, though,” Bucky said with a slight frown. “Didn’t Bruce say between four and six weeks?”

Steve nodded. “So anytime now is possible. I’ll talk with her on the way to get her hair cut and see about getting back to the clinic for another exam,” he agreed.

*****

Steve kept a close eye on Izabelle while she sat in the chair, frowned when she could not stand having the cape on her. She had started to stiffen, and he heard Duke whine from where he and T’Challa sat at the kitchen table having coffee, but Nakia easily set it aside with a smile while the couple’s cat came to sit in the omega’s lap.

“Many of the omegas cannot take wearing it,” T’Challa commented softly. “It is too confining. Nakia offers it to keep the hair off them, but it is too much and many say no.”

Steve nodded and ran a hand over his face. “I’m glad she was available to do this; I don’t think Izabelle would have been comfortable going anywhere else,” he said with a soft sigh.

“It helps to have a network with people in various vocations,” T’Challa agreed. “I understand Stark was over to put her mind at ease once already?”

“So far, just once. But she’s only left the house… This is the second time? She’s come a long way, but Izabelle won’t even sit in the backyard.”

T’Challa studied the young omega and shook his head. “Her captivity left its mark and will take a great deal of time to heal.”

*****

They got into the car and Steve turned to Izabelle before he started the vehicle, watching her for a moment while she played with her hair. “Does it feel better?”

“It’s not crunchy anymore,” she agreed with a small smile. “I forgot how soft it could feel.”

They drove home and Steve grinned as she scratched. “The joys of a haircut; those little hairs that end up all over,” he said with a chuckle.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Izabelle muttered. “First plan as soon as we’re home is a shower!”

True to her word, she walked straight to the bedroom when they reached the house. She quickly showered and changed, then went to join the men. Lunch was sandwiches and salad, and she waited until they cleared the dishes before she spoke. “I know you were military,” Izabelle said softly, watching as both men stilled and watched her carefully, waiting for more of a reaction from her. She had been debating for some time when to bring the subject up with the men, and finally decided it was time.

“And you’re still here?” Bucky asked as he and Steve came back to join her at the kitchen table.

“You’re not him,” she replied with a ghost of a smile, shrugging as she petted Duke. “When Fury mentioned your names at the hospital, I thought they were familiar. For a long time, there was a picture on the mantle of The Crew… That’s what he called your group. Then you showed up at the hospital, and you looked…different. But I still recognized you both.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Steve admitted. He could only think of one picture that Rumlow would have had of them all, and it would be just nearly fifteen years old. “Shorter hair, clean-shaven, and we hadn’t seen a lot of action yet. And we sure as hell were younger.”

Izabelle nodded slightly and stared between the men. “When Fury called Wanda, I guess he told her not to say anything. But she still told me you were ex-military. Pietro was so mad,” she murmured with a hard shudder. Duke buried himself against her legs and she rubbed behind his ears, closing her eyes. “Brock hated you both so much when you testified against him, you and Clint. He’d rant about you all for hours after his discharge.”

Steve and Bucky shared a look, and the blond moved to sit next to her, leaning one arm along the back of her chair. “And you still trusted us enough to come here?”

“He hates you, more than he hates me,” Izabelle replied softly. “And like Wanda pointed out, you two and Clint went with what was right and testified against him. Not everyone would do that; they’d stick by their colleagues, and keep their mouths shut.”

“Good people don’t do that,” Bucky argued softly.

Izabelle smiled softly. “And that’s why I came here. I know he tried to kill you because you went against him, and that’s how your arm was injured.”

Glancing down, he grinned and shrugged. “Arranged one of our vehicles to be ambushed and crash. I was the only one in it, but my arm was pretty badly mangled,” Bucky replied softly. “They could never prove for sure it was him, so he couldn’t be charged with it.”

“But we knew,” Steve agreed.

“He bragged about it at home,” Izabelle admitted in a whisper. She stared at the men, worried they would be angry with her.

Steve could scent her fear. He reached out to touch her knee gently and offered a gentle smile. “Sweetheart, you aren’t responsible for him,” he assured.

“I hate that you’ve put everything on hold, just to have me here,” she said softly. “Your entire lives.”

“Izabelle, we’re in a position to help betas and omegas who need it. We couldn’t live with ourselves if we let people suffer needlessly,” Steve replied.

“But even…being together.” Her voice was a whisper as her face flushed in embarrassment.

“Izzy, don’t worry about that, please,” Bucky begged softly. “We’ve been together for a long time, and we’ve been taking in and looking after omegas for six years.”

Steve nodded. “You’re the priority here,” he agreed.

“Just… I’m okay if you two…you know,” Izabelle said softly. Her face felt warm, but she didn’t know how much of a blush would show with what was still visible in bruises.

“Duly noted,” Steve said with a grin.

*****


	11. Chapter 11

Izabelle watched the men go about their days, finding she needed to be glued to one of their sides less and less. She slowly became more comfortable in the house, Duke sticking by her side as the faithful companion he was, though Izabelle found even he was laying on the floor or next to her on the couch, and not on her lap as much. She had been there for nearly a month one morning as she stared at her phone, chewing on her lip. Opening the contacts, she looked at Natasha’s information, and messaged her,  _ “Hi.” _

After a pause, the alpha replied.  _ “Hey, Izzy. How’s things?” _

She let out a deep breath and plunged ahead. Though she had been messaging with the female alpha for weeks, she wanted to take it a step further.  _ “Want to come over for some tea?” _

_ “I can be there in about fifteen minutes. See you soon.” _

Izabelle nodded to herself and set her phone aside. She went to check out the spare bedroom and took in a blanket from the men’s bedroom; she wanted their scents nearby. Setting up the kettle, she put the water on to boil as Steve came in and gave her a curious look.

“Everything okay, Izzy?”

“Natasha’s coming over,” she said quietly, glancing down as Duke leaned into her side.

“Ah,” Steve said with a small smile, glad she was branching out. “Well, Bucky and I will be around if you need anything, sweetheart.” The doorbell rang, and Izabelle stared at the front door, her feet frozen. He saw the fear in her eyes. Other than her trip to the clinic and their venture to get her hair cut, Izabelle had not left the house. “I’ll let her in,” Steve said gently. “You get the kettle.”

She smiled gratefully as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead then moved to let the other woman in. Izabelle turned to the screaming kettle to pour it into the pot to let the tea steep and offered the other woman a small smile. “How do you take your tea?”

“Little bit of honey for me, thanks,” Natasha replied.

Izabelle nodded. “Me too.” The women prepared their mugs and the omega led the way down the hallway to the spare room to the deep-seated couch along the wall. “Hope you don’t mind in here?”

“As long as you’re comfortable, I’m fine just about anywhere,” Natasha assured. She watched Izabelle sit and cover herself with the blanket she had brought in while Duke lay on the floor next to her. “Just before we get talking, I wanted you to know a few things, Izabelle, okay?” When the omega nodded curiously, Natasha continued. “What we discuss is between us, but also enters into what’s called your circle of care. So, if it’s information that I think Bruce and Pepper need to know, or even Steve and Bucky, then I may pass it along. But I don’t want you to feel that you can’t tell me things. Just that I want you to be aware of that.”

Izabelle nodded and blew on her tea. It made sense when she thought about it. “I’m okay with that; means I don’t have to explain it more than once,” she agreed with a nod.

Natasha smiled. “Good. So, how are you settling in, Izzy?”

“It’s been good,” she replied, hugging the mug close. “I know they know Brock, so does your mate. I know the three of them are who put him away.”

Natasha nodded at her soft tone, surprised. “How did Steve and Bucky react when you told them?”

“They were astonished I agreed to come,” she said with a small smile. “But Brock hates them all, more than he hates me.” Izabelle stared into her mug and licked her lips. “I was 19 when I met him… And looking back, I almost think he set it up.”

“What do you mean?” Natasha asked softly.

“I was a day or two away from my heat, it was a friend’s birthday, so we were out having fun,” Izabelle explained. “And these two guys just…they wouldn’t leave me alone. Brock, he… He came out of the corner and drove them off. But when I think about it now, I almost wonder if he paid them to do it.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “I don’t know, just…my gut tells me it was him. Because no one else was bothering me until they came up. That was ten years ago.”

Natasha digested the information and nodded slightly. “He might have,” she agreed. “Your scent would be subtle but changing enough that he would have known your heat was due, and he might have decided he wanted that. And I’m guessing he was one of the older alphas in the bar that night.”

A humourless smile crossed Izabelle’s face before she took a mouthful of tea and nodded. “Yeah. I knew he was older, but I didn’t realize how much so until…after,” she agreed. Izabelle let out a long sigh and shook her head. “I can barely remember what I was like back then, you know? I don’t remember what I wanted to do, but… He as charming, and he stayed just close enough to make sure that no one else bothered us that night; just sort of a sentinel to let the girls have fun. When everyone was ready to go home, he asked me if I wanted company. It was just that simple; no pressure, just an unassuming question. And with the dancing, and the drinking, because of course, I’d been drinking underage, I agreed. I had a roommate, so we went back to his place for some privacy.” She shuddered and stared down at Duke who sat up and laid his head into her lap. “My heat hit hard and fast by the next morning, I think because I had an alpha with me, and when I sort of came out of it four days later, Brock had mated me.”

“He did it while you were in heat?” Natasha asked in dark disapproval.

“Yeah,” Izabelle agreed. “I was so angry, but… He managed to charm me into agreeing to stay; he could provide for me, had a great house, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. And on those points, he was right. I’d been struggling with money and paying rent, hated my roommate, and wasn’t sure what I was going to do. It was…eerie, almost. I moved in, and not long after, he was posted overseas.” She snorted when she felt tears threatening and wiped angrily at her eyes. “Can you believe that I was disappointed when I didn’t end up pregnant?”

“Izzy, you didn’t know,” Natasha counselled softly. “You thought you’d found an alpha who was as good in person as he appeared; how could you know otherwise?”

Izabelle sighed heavily and nodded. “He was home every six months. And every time, I could smell betas and omegas on him,” she said softly. “When I’d get upset, he told me there were betas in his unit, and that they had to be seen by omega nurses before they could be sent off-base and to their homes. Fuck, I was so stupid to believe him…”

She got up to pace, hugging herself with one hand and taking a long swallow of her tea, draining it. “I swear, the whole time he was home, we basically never left the bedroom; so, I never really thought that he could be cheating,” Izabelle confessed. “I thought it meant he missed me…”

“And what do you think now?”

“That it was how he was controlling me,” the omega replied. “He wanted me pregnant because then I’d be tied to him. Three years of this, and then he showed up in the middle of the night, furious, smashing things, ranting. I was terrified. He tore the picture off the mantle, the one of The Crew, and smashed it. And he reeked of women… I tried to ask him, and he hit me.”

Natasha startled; she hadn’t realized the abuse went so far back. “What did you do?”

“He had knocked me to the ground, and I lay there, just staring at him. I was afraid to move. I think he realized suddenly who I was, and he knelt in front of me and hugged me, but the smell…” Izabelle shook her head. “I pulled away from him and asked what had happened. He said he’d been discharged. That three of his team had turned against him, and he was facing some kind of charges. He refused to tell me anything more than that.” Shivering, Izabelle returned to the couch and hugged the blanket around her, taking in the scent of Steve and Bucky before she continued. “I told Brock I was tired and going to bed. He followed me and tried to… When I told him I wasn’t in the mood… That was the first night he forced me.”

Natasha watched her bury her face in the blanket and inhale deeply, and let the young woman settle. “I know it took a few months for his trial to go through,” she said gently.

Izabelle nodded. “I listened to him rant, and lived like a ghost in the house,” she said softly. “He didn’t seem to notice. He still… Almost daily he would… His goal was still to get me pregnant. But he went out most nights with Rollins, and didn’t come home until almost dawn, or later. Then he’d sleep most of the day. I spent most of the day out of the house, but I had heard a lot of his ranting because he was on a repeating mantra; I knew he was going away, no matter what he tried to argue.”

The alpha smiled slightly and nodded. “You weren’t wrong,” she agreed. “How long did you wait to run?”

“He was at the courthouse, I was on the computer, watching live,” Izabelle replied. “The second they said guilty, I was out the door. I left everything except for money; I took as much out of the account as I was able, went and changed my ID that morning, and got on a bus. Next town I got off at, I dyed my hair and cut it, then got on another bus with the new ID.”

“Smart girl,” Natasha said in approval.

“I knew Rollins would be coming to watch me,” she replied with a shudder. “He’d keep an eye on me until whenever Brock got out. And I wasn’t waiting.” Izabelle rubbed at her neck. “The mating mark was gone in a month; faster than I expected, honestly.”

The alpha studied her closely and finished her own tea. “So, Rumlow went away in the early part of 2012,” she said softly. “What did you do for work?”

“I ended up in a shipping store,” Izabelle replied. “They had good surveillance, some workers, all very close-knit, and I rented a room over the garage from the couple who owned it. They could tell I was running from something, but never pushed for answers. I thought I kept a good eye out, but… Rollins must have found me not long before Brock got out. Because I saw he was released on their website, and that night I woke up to him standing over my bed. I didn’t even have time to scream.”

Natasha swallowed hard and stared at her. “He got out the start of 2016,” she said softly.

Izabelle nodded. “April,” she replied. “Three years, locked in a shed.”

“He fed you, from what I can tell.”

“Brock’s obsession with having a baby didn’t go away. He became furious every time I would go into heat again,” she confessed. “I miscarried once, but… I don’t think it was his.”

Natasha watched her flush and nodded. “Rollins?” When Izabelle nodded and glanced up, the alpha offered a gentle smile. “Izzy, none of this is your fault; what he did to you, you had no control over.”

She let out a long sigh and nodded. “I think… I don’t think Brock could get me pregnant,” she confessed. “It’d been so long with him, he should have been able to, and I never did. But Bruce said that I look okay, so…”

“There’s a good chance it was on his end,” Natasha agreed.

Izabelle shrugged and stared down at Duke, who was licking her hand. “I’m glad I didn’t with him; could you imagine? And at this point… I’m such a mess. Especially…”

When her voice died off and she flushed and ducked her head, Natasha smiled at her. “What is it?”

“Part of me is attracted to Steve and Bucky,” Izabelle admitted in a whisper. “I didn’t expect to be attracted to anyone after everything, but I am. And how funny is that? They’re gay!” She sighed heavily. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when my heat shows up, though. Bruce doesn’t want me to take suppressants, because of how bruised everything was, and that I couldn’t track anything for the past few years. And I get that, I do. But what am I supposed to do while I’m here? Hide?”

Natasha couldn’t help the grin on her face as she shook her head. “I’m sure you’ll have a solution by then.”

*****


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags updated

Steve reached in to turn on the shower in the basement’s bathroom after their workout when Bucky closed the door and came to bite teasingly as his neck. Steve fought the urge to growl in return and shook his head. “We shouldn’t, Buck,” he murmured, even as he put his hands over the other man’s arms at his waist.

“Izzy is busy with Nat and she’s safe,” Bucky replied gently, nibbling his lobe. “And you heard her yourself; she’s all right if we want to be together. The fan is on, the diffusers are running down here for us to work out, and both doors are closed. Our scent won’t carry upstairs to where she is to bother her. I’ve missed you…”

Groaning, Steve turned and pinned the other man to the wall next to the shower and kissed him hard, their teeth pressing against their lips as their tongues ran along each other. The blond ran his hands into Bucky’s long hair, pulling out the elastic he wore for the workout, and tugging at the locks.

Since they had both already peeled off their shirts, Bucky reached for Steve’s shorts, pushing them to the floor. He grinned as the blond kicked out of them and pressed his hips forward. “Let’s get into the shower,” Bucky suggested, kicking out of his own shorts.

Steve nodded and they climbed under the shower’s spray, hissing at the cool temperature against their heated skin. Bucky took the chance to push the other man against the tiles and stepped into him, gripping both of their erections in his one hand, stroking them together. It drew a deep groan from the blond, whose hips began thrusting.

“For someone who was reluctant, you sure are eager,” Bucky growled, their cocks rubbing against one another in his hand as he used his thumb to stroke across their tips.

“I’d rather be between those lips, and shut you up,” he replied darkly.

Barnes dropped to his knees without hesitation and sucked him deep into his throat, humming. He looked up and saw Steve’s head tossed back against the tiles, eyes closed, and his jaw slack. Bucky grinned and felt the other man’s hands in his hair as he pulled off with a pop, stroking with his one hand. “You’re trembling like you’re ready to go there, babe. Has it been that long?”

“Shut up,” Steve pleaded as his lover gave kitten licks around his head. “Bucky, please.”

Going over his head again and sucking him deep, Barnes used one hand to stroke him, the other to caress the sensitive area between his ball and back pucker. Steve began keening, his hips rocking into Bucky’s mouth, who growled deep in his throat to try and encourage him. When he started working one of his fingers into Steve’s ass, the blond cried out softly and came. Bucky swallowed and pulled off, licking him clean with a chuckle. “And I thought I was the one who wanted it bad,” he commented.

“You weren’t the only one who was missing it,” Steve commented, pulling the other man to his feet and kissing him soundly. “I know I’m not supposed to be thinking this way, but I’ve had Izabelle cuddled up against me every night… And I know it’s not proper; I get that. I’ve never been tempted by an omega in our care, not once.”

Bucky bit Steve’s lip to silence him with a harsh kiss. “You’re not the only one affected, you’re just the one she goes to more,” he agreed. “But  _ believe _ me, I understand.” He groaned as Steve gripped him tightly and started stroking, his hips catching a quick rhythm. Bucky was panting harshly as he came into the other man’s hand, kissing him fiercely.

Pressing his lips to Bucky’s forehead gently, Steve grinned. “Now, let’s clean up and go see how everything is upstairs, huh?”

Chuckling, Bucky nodded. “Sounds good.”

Once the men were clean and in fresh clothes, they made their way upstairs. Bucky found Natasha first, Izabelle was in the kitchen chopping vegetables for something she had insisted on making for dinner. The female alpha raised her eyebrows at the men and winked.

Steve's eyes widened and he whispered, “You can’t scent us, can you?”

“No, but I caught a few noises. Don’t worry, Izzy didn’t; she was in the bathroom,” Natasha assured with a chuckle. Letting out a relieved sigh, Steve shook his head at her, until she said, “Walk me to my car?”

The blond nodded and followed her outside. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we had a good talk,” Natasha assured. “I found out a lot about her past; she was only 19 when she met Rumlow.”

Steve ran a hand over his hair in disbelief and shook his head. “According to her file, she’s 29 now… Ten years with him, starting that young? Geezuz. It’s a wonder she trusts Buck or me at all.”

“He was trying to get her pregnant, to keep her tied to him. But it didn’t work. Izzy figures he was infertile because she had a miscarriage, but only after Rumlow started sharing her with Rollins,” Natasha revealed, and she listened to the man growl. “Deep breath there, Muscles.”

“I know,” he agreed, forcing himself to take a calming breath.

Natasha reached out to run her hand down his arm. “It’s good that she reached out on her own, and not just texting,” she said with a nod, then a smile spread across her face. “And one other thing. She thinks you and Bucky are gay.”

He stared at her in surprise, then chuckled. “Well, I suppose it shouldn’t be too shocking, really. We’ve kept our opinions to ourselves about any attraction to her, or anyone else.”

“And she knows you’re a couple, and currently exclusive,” Natasha supplied with a nod. “Izzy knows you’ve had omegas in your care but are still together as alphas. She made the comment about not being sure if she needs to hide during her heat.”

Groaning, Steve shook his head. “I’m not sure yet what she’ll want to do either, especially if we tell her that we’d help her with it. I never thought we’d have to explain to her we have multiple interests,” he said with a chuckle.

“I think her experience is fairly limited, Steve,” Natasha advised. “If she met Rumlow when she was 19, she’d only been having heats for a few years.”

He frowned heavily but nodded. “We’ll approach it carefully when it’s necessary. I don’t want to embarrass her.”

“I agree. But I wanted you to know.”

“Thanks, Nat,” Steve said gently, kissing her cheek before she got into her car and left. Inside he found Bucky helping Izabelle prepare dinner; teriyaki beef and broccoli with noodles, the amazing aromas filling the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Set up the table?” Izabelle asked. “I’m almost done here.”

He nodded and grinned, glad to watch her move about, happily humming as she prepared the food. Steve and Bucky shared a pleased look; she had come a long way in a short amount of time.

*****


	13. Chapter 13

Since things had gone well with Natasha, a few days later, Izabelle finally invited the twins over to the house. She had been messaging Wanda from the day she had received her phone and felt comfortable with the omega. Since Sam came and went for therapy for Bucky, and with Clint and Natasha having dropped by a few times in the days since the initial dinner, Izabelle felt comfortable enough to invite new people over. Steve and Bucky had been fully supportive, and the group had hung out for lunch before the omegas made tea and broke off to spend some time talking together alone.

“Do you want to go sit out back?” Wanda asked as she held her tea. She watched Izabelle’s eyes widen, and she frowned. “What’s wrong, Izzy?”

“I’ve… Is there a shed out back?” she asked softly. It was the one area she still had never ventured to.

Wanda heard the fear in her voice, watched as Duke whined, and Wanda shook her head. “No. Steve and Bucky keep what they need in the double-car garage,” she assured. Though she had no idea of Izabelle’s past, the stink of terror that poured off her was certainly an indicator. Steve peeked out of the basement stairs with a concerned look, but Wanda shook her head slightly; things were all right so far. He studied the omegas, then nodded and went back downstairs without interfering.

Izabelle took a steadying breath and nodded slightly; she was going to have to go outside eventually, she knew. She had barely glimpsed out the windows since her arrival, other than to make certain there were no trees nearby. Izabelle knew there was a door off the dining room but had never gone near it to look outside.

“The second you want to come inside, we can, I promise,” Wanda assured. “There’s a covered deck we can sit on, that’s all I was suggesting.” When Izabelle nodded, Wanda held out her hand to the other omega and squeezed her fingers gently before slowly leading her outside.

The deck was half screened-in, as Wanda had said, and she led the way to a plush couch for the women to sit with their tea. The brunette smiled that Izabelle sat as close as she did, and asked, “You’re settling in all right here?”

Izabelle still found herself scanning the yard and distant trees warily before she could answer. “Yeah. Steve and Bucky are good to me, even when I wake up from nightmares,” she admitted, flushing in embarrassment. Too often she had found herself in the corner, more than once she had urinated on herself; the defense to keep Rumlow away from her had only occasionally worked, but her body still tried. They were less frequent now but still happened.

“It was hard, especially at first,” Wanda agreed. “Pietro didn’t understand all of it; he’s a beta. The fear was there, but we have that need to be close to an alpha, and he just didn’t really know why. Steve helped him with his anger issues a lot; taught him how to spar to work through things that way. Bucky was the one I clung to.”

“Steve seems to be the one I’m sticking to, not that I can explain why,” Izabelle admitted.

“We never can,” Wanda replied with a shrug. “You trust them both, but one just…fits while you’re healing. It’s instinctual, don’t question it.”

Izabelle smiled slightly. It felt better to talk to someone who understood everything she was feeling, if not why she was feeling it, and who had survived it. They had been texting for so long now but sitting and talking with the other omega was comforting. Shuffling closer, Izabelle curled into Wanda’s side, who let her cuddle in and stroked her hair. Wanda smelled of oil paints and mahogany wood; she was an artist, and it flowed through every pore of her being. Izabelle realized she had no idea who she was outside of Rumlow and his control, and the thought made her chest squeeze tight. Ten years of her life had been controlled by the alpha, the latter part living in fear of him, and now, she wondered who she was.

“Breathe, Izzy,” Wanda counseled softly.

But the thoughts had opened up a chasm. Izabelle remembered being told she would never get out alive, that Brock would always find her. That she belonged to him and was only good for one thing. Hands gripped her arms and she froze, her head shrinking down until her chin touched her chest while she waited for the blows to start. Her ears buzzed and her skin turned icy, her stomach rolled while her body shivered. She lost all concept of time passing.

The first thing Izabelle became aware of was that she was surrounded by comforting scents and warmth. She blinked slowly; the room was dimmed, and arms held her, but not tightly enough to make her feel trapped. Raising her head, Izabelle looked up to see Steve gazing down at her in concern, and she glanced back to find Bucky spooned against her back; Duke lay at her feet. “What happened?” she whispered with a frown.

“You were sitting with Wanda,” Steve said softly. “We don’t know for sure, because she just started yelling for us.

“You withdrew into yourself,” Bucky continued, stroking down her arm.

Izabelle felt tears in her eyes at how badly things had gone from a simple conversation, and her voice was barely audible as she asked, “How long?”

“Shhh, sweetheart,” Steve soothed. “It’s all right. It’s hasn’t been long.”

“It shouldn’t have happened at all,” she argued, angry at herself.

Bucky had her roll on her back and touched her chin, wiping as the tears fell. “Recovery happens at different paces for everyone,” he argued gently. “It may not be happening the way you want it to, but you  _ are _ getting better. Just be patient, okay?”

Izabelle sighed heavily, then frowned. “I smell food?”

Steve grinned and nodded. “Wanda and Pietro, probably,” he replied. “It’s only five o’clock, so they probably started something for dinner.”

“They stayed?” she asked in confusion.

Bucky nodded and tapped her chin. “They understand what’s going on, at least to a degree,” he replied.

Izabelle let out a sigh and nodded. “I’ll go clean up and meet everyone out there,” she said softly, climbing from between the men. She wandered into the bathroom, Duke following behind her.

Steve, who had sat up when she left the bed, flopped back onto the pillows with a soft groan. “Is it bad I want to follow her to keep comforting her?” he muttered to Bucky.

The dark-haired alpha grinned at him and shook his head. “Not at all,” he replied. “Deep breaths, punk. And take a long shower downstairs; because we both know how each of us likes to offer comfort…”

Chuckling, Steve nodded and groaned. “Yeah, no kidding. Okay, let’s go see if Wanda and Pietro need a hand with anything.”

*****


	14. Chapter 14

Izabelle sat on the couch, cuddled between Wanda and Steve after dinner, Bucky on Steve’s far side, Pietro and Duke wrestling on the floor, while a movie played. Izabelle started to relax, her head lolling onto Steve’s shoulder as she started to doze off, exhausted, when a voice sounded in the back of her head.

_ Look at you, you beautiful little slut. You love taking it from everyone, don’t you? _ Izabelle heard Brock’s voice in her ear, and she whined. The skin felt like it was crawling up the back of her neck as she cringed hard and climbed off the couch, into the far corner of the room.

Duke quickly followed, burrowing himself into her arms and against her chest, while Steve turned to Bucky. “Call Nat,” he murmured, knowing that with two breakdowns this close together, Izabelle should be speaking to the therapist. Barnes was frowning but nodded and pulled out his cell phone, stepping into the kitchen. Steve turned back to the shivering woman on the floor. He let out a long breath and approached slowly, knelt and reached out to stroke Duke, letting Izabelle catch his scent. “Izzy?”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, staring up at him, her eyes rolled to show a lot of white. Izabelle knew almost immediately that she had panicked and why realized where she was as soon as Duke was in her arms and she smelled the alpha kneeling in front of her. Embarrassment washed over her.

“You don’t have to apologize, sweetheart,” Steve replied easily, a gentle smile on his face. He studied her face closely and asked, “What can I do?”

She pushed to her knees, the dog moved instantly to the side, and Izabelle crawled up into Steve’s arms, burying her face against his neck to draw a deep breath. It was the first time Izabelle had scented either of the men, one of her hands reaching up into his hair to hold him against her, the other wrapped around his waist, and she clung while she nuzzled his skin. Izabelle heard movement around them, and she burrowed deeper into his body, ignoring everyone else. His scent made her feel safe, and she wrapped it around her like a warm blanket.

“Easy, I got you,” Steve murmured, stroking her hair with one hand, the other wrapped around her waist to hold her close. The pair stayed unmoving for several minutes while Steve fought the urge to growl possessively; he had never felt the pull of an omega under his care so strongly before. The alpha in him wanted to scent her in return but knew it wasn’t his place, and his eyes sought out Bucky; the men shared a look of understanding as there was a gentle knock on the front door.

Bucky answered it, and Steve glanced up as Natasha entered. The female alpha’s eyes widened at the scene, and Rogers smiled slightly at her. “Izabelle?” he asked softly. When she only hummed in response, he smiled and brought the hand from his hair to stroke her cheek. “Nat is here to see you, sweetheart.”

Pulling back, the omega eyed the female alpha and glanced around the room to see the twins had left, and she frowned. Before she could say anything, Bucky said, “Wanda said she’ll message you tomorrow, Izzy. And to just remember to breathe.”

Nodding, she smiled slightly and turned to Natasha with a light blush on her cheeks. “Where did you want to talk?”

“How about the loft? There are comfy places to sit, and it’s nice and open,” Natasha suggested gently.

Izabelle glanced up; she explored there once, but never sat upstairs. Nodding, she pulled away from Steve with a shiver and glanced up at him. “I feel like I should keep thanking you…”

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he grinned. “Not necessary. Pick out snacks, I’ll put on the kettle to boil.”

The women raided the cupboards for cookies and popcorn while Steve readied a carafe for tea and set everything onto a serving tray. Natasha carried it upstairs and flopped onto a beanbag chair once it was set down onto a low end-table and served herself a cup.

Izabelle poured herself a cup and grabbed a cookie once she was settled in another beanbag chair, smiling once Duke was laying across her feet. She hummed as the warmth filled her and looked at the woman across from her. “I feel bad they called you so late,” she admitted, looking outside into the stars appearing in the night sky.

“I don’t have office hours, Izzy,” Natasha replied with an easy shrug. “So, I’m not restricted to nine-to-five schedules; I’m here when you need me.” She popped some popcorn into her mouth, grinned, threw some down to Duke who snatched it mid-air and turned back to the omega across from her. “Did you want to talk about tonight, Izzy?”

The omega chewed her lower lip and stared down into her mug. “I hear his voice first,” Izabelle murmured softly, her thumbs running over the ceramic. “And then it’s like… It’s like I’m right back there.

“What managed to bring you back to here and now?”

Izabelle smiled slightly and looked up. “Their scent,” she admitted. “Steve’s tonight, but this afternoon, it was both of them.” She studied the loft and reached over to turn the mirror that was next to her to face the wall, shivering and taking a deep mouthful of her tea. Izabelle turned back to see Natasha watching her silently, and the omega flushed. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Izzy,” Natasha said gently. “Bucky told me you went out back for the first time today, but it was reluctant.”

Shaking her head, Izabelle shuddered. “I watched Brock and Rollins, before he put me in the shed, sharp shoot deer and rabbits,” she replied. “I know they can sniper from long distances. I hate the back of the house because I feel like someone’s watching me…”

Natasha nodded. “You know that Rumlow is still in custody, and if that changes, Steve and Bucky will be informed immediately.”

“But his friend…”

“Rollins is under surveillance; Tony showed you that,” Natasha reminded. “And Fury would call if that changes too.”

Izabelle nodded. “I know. I just…” She shivered and hugged herself with one arm.

The alpha smiled gently. “I understand; you’ve spent a long-time learning fear and caution. And we all understand, Izzy.”

“I keep waiting for them to get annoyed,” Izabelle confessed.

“It’s not in their nature,” Natasha replied with a grin. “I have a question for you, though.” When the omega nodded, she asked, “Is Steve the first person you’ve scented since Rumlow?”

Izabelle smiled slightly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that with anyone, yeah,” she agreed. “I haven’t even scented Brock since… It’s been a while, even before everything went bad. I don’t even know what possessed me to do it now.”

“It’s a good sign, Izzy,” Natasha assured with a smile. The pair sat in comfortable silence for a while, before the alpha let out a long breath. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“You can ask me anything,” Izabelle said with a nod.

Natasha nodded and studied the younger woman closely. “You’ve mentioned friends only once, back when you first met Brock,” she started carefully. “And you’ve never mentioned any family, Izzy.”

Izabelle let out a long breath. “Not long after he mated me, Brock moved us a few states away from where we met,” she admitted. “He isolated me, I realized much later, because my friends were young and either just finding mates and having kids or looking at jobs. I was… I was in a brand-new town. He didn’t want me to work, I was  _ not _ pregnant, and alone.” She sighed and rubbed at her face. “I don’t have any family; my parents died when I was sixteen, no siblings, and I took care of myself. My mother had a sister, but she was much older and died before my mom did. I had a cousin, Scott, and we’d talk online sometimes, but…”

When her voice died off, Natasha frowned. “What is it?”

“Brock saw the messages and… He became so wildly jealous, I broke off contact,” Izabelle admitted softly. “It was six months before he came home with the charges.”

“And you haven’t tried to get in contact with him when you were on the run? Or looked him up while you were here?”

Izabelle shook her head. “When I was running, I just figured Rollins would find out,” she replied. “And since… He’s probably forgotten about me; it’s not like we were that close; he’s a bit older than Steve and Bucky.”

Natasha nodded slightly and studied the omega. The young woman had gained enough weight that her cheeks weren’t quite as prominent, her skin wasn’t as translucent. Physically, her health had improved greatly while in the men’s care, and she had made amazing strides emotionally, even if she did not quite believe it. “Do you think you’ll be able to go to the clinic soon?” Natasha asked gently. She watched Izabelle frown at her, and the alpha grinned. “I know Bruce wanted to see you in around a month’s time, which is basically any time now.”

Chewing the inside of her cheek. “I know,” Izabelle agreed. “And I’ll go, I promise.” She stared outside and let out a long sigh. “It’s late, I shouldn’t keep you.”

“I’ll stay if you want me to, you know that.”

Izabelle smiled appreciatively but shook her head. “No, it’s okay; go home. I should get some sleep myself.” She walked Natasha down the stairs to the main level.

“You look like you’re just itching for a bubble bath,” Natasha said with a wide grin. The omega had confessed in a text how much she loved them to unwind.

“I am,” she agreed with a long sigh.

“Go, I can see myself out,” Natasha said with a gentle smile. She watched the omega go off and stared at the basement door, shaking her head slightly. The alpha’s sensitive nose knew what the men were up to downstairs and she poured herself a fresh cup of tea to wait for them, hearing the shower running.

*****

Steve and Bucky emerged from the basement, Natasha sat on the kitchen counter, staring at the basement door, with a smirk on her face. Steve flushed immediately and rubbed at his beard. “I… We thought you were still with Izzy…”

“She’s gone for a bath,” Natasha replied evenly. “And I know you two think you’re being discreet, but Bucky, you’re walking a little funny right now.”

He had been taking a long gulp of water, and Barnes sputtered into the sink and turned to stare at her. “You never were one to mince words,” he replied with a chuckle. “Izzy has given us the go-ahead to be with one another.”

“I get that, but that’s also when she assumed you were gay,” Natasha replied. “How do you think she’s going to respond when you tell her the truth and offer to help with her heats?”

Steve ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “You’re right. We’ve behaved ourselves with an omega in the house before, we can do it again, babe,” he reminded Barnes, who nodded in agreement.

“Good. I gently reminded her that she needs to go back to see Bruce; the idea of leaving the house still doesn’t thrill her, but she promised she would still go. And now, so will I. You guys have a good night,” she said with a smile, hopping off the counter.

The men walked her to the door, Bucky walking her to her car and seeing her off while Steve headed to the bedroom. He found Izabelle just coming out of the bathroom, still humming to whatever music she had been playing. A smile crossed his face, but he knew Natasha was right; part of what was driving he and Bucky to be together was their attraction to Izabelle, and that wasn’t fair to the omega.

Izabelle looked up when she noticed his scent, and she smiled. “I’m just exhausted. Today has been…”

Steve approached her slowly and cupped her cheek gently. “It’s been a lot,” he agreed. “But you’ve handled it well, Izzy. Just let me change, and I’ll join you, and I don’t think Bucky is too far behind either.”

Izabelle fought the urge to nuzzle his hand and nodded instead, turning to crawl between the sheets. “I’ll see you in a few then,” she said softly.

By the time the men joined her, Izabelle was already half asleep, and she moaned softly as she curled onto Steve’s chest, burying her face into his skin as she burrowed against him. They bid her goodnight, but she was already asleep.

*****


	15. Chapter 15

Izabelle sat in the living room after breakfast with her tea, playing on her phone, as Steve came to join her. “I have a question for you. You know Bruce wanted to see you again before your heat, and he guessed it would start in four to six weeks,” he reminded her. “It’s been a month now.”

Izabelle swallowed hard and nodded, reaching out to pet Duke as the dog laid his head on her lap. “You want to go there now,” she said heavily, it wasn’t even a question.

“You can say no,” he replied easily. “But it is something you have to do, and sometime soon, Izzy.”

A shaky sigh left her lips, but she nodded. “Let’s get it over with,” Izabelle agreed, looking at him with wide eyes.

Steve leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll call the clinic and get dressed. And I’ll be with you the entire time.”

“No Bucky?” she asked softly.

“Sam’s coming over for his therapy,” Steve replied. “If you want both of us there, we can wait. That’s totally fine.”

Izabelle let out a breath and shook her head. “No. No, it’s okay. I’ll go change while you call.”

She was quiet the entire trip there, fidgeting until Steve reached over and took hold of her hands. Izabelle had jumped and glanced over at him, not even aware she had been doing it, before letting out a breath that shook. “Sorry,” she murmured.

He stroked her knuckles and smiled gently. “You’ve nothing to apologize for,” he reminded her.

Inside the clinic, Bruce met them in the lobby and offered the omega a small smile. “You’re looking well, Izabelle; how are you feeling?”

“Better,” she agreed, hugging herself and studying the people in the lobby warily.

Steve gave the doctor a pointed look and wrapped an arm around the young woman while Duke leaned into her legs. Bruce took the hint and said, “Why don’t you follow me?” He led the way to an exam room and said, “I’m just going to go and grab your chart and send in the nurse to get some blood work, okay?”

Izabelle nodded. The exam went better than the last time, the bruises had disappeared and though she was tense, Steve talked her through it the same as he did the first time. When Bruce let her sit up, she was shivering, and Steve hugged her against his side. “Deep breaths, sweetheart,” he murmured.

Bruce watched her closely, giving her a few moments to collect herself, and once she was settled, he offered her a reassuring smile. “You’re doing well, Izabelle,” he said softly. There was a knock at the door, and he opened it to take the paperwork with a soft word of thanks. Looking it over he nodded and smiled at the omega. “Everything looks good from what I can see. I expect you should be going into heat anytime now, Izabelle; your hormone levels are definitely headed in that direction. Do you have any plans set in place, or do you need the clinic’s help for that?”

“I don’t know yet…”

“We haven’t had the chance to discuss it, but we can manage it as long as Izabelle is comfortable,” Steve finished when her voice died off, stroking her back. When she looked at him quizzically, he smiled at her. “We need to talk, but haven’t had the chance yet; if you don’t like the options we have at home, then the clinic has others, okay?”

Izabelle nodded, saying softly, “Okay.”

Bruce smiled and nodded. “Alright. I’ll give you a shot for birth control so that you’re covered however you choose to handle it if that’s all right?” When Izabelle nodded, he pulled out a needle from the medical cabinet and injected her arm. He massaged her shoulder muscles after he gave it, then drew back with a small smile and nodded. “Well, then unless you need anything or have any questions for me, you’re free to go, Izabelle.”

“Thank you, Bruce,” she said softly. She let out a long breath and a tension she didn’t know she was holding in left her as the doctor closed the door behind him.

Moving to stand in front of where her legs hung off the exam bed, Steve cupped her face and brought her eyes up to meet his. “You did so well, Izzy,” he murmured softly. “And a big change from the last time we were here.”

Izabelle snorted and nodded slightly. “Yeah, but let’s be honest; it wasn’t hard to improve on that.”

He chuckled and ran his thumb over her cheek. “Let’s go home, okay?”

She pushed to her feet and dressed, flushing when she noticed he turned his face away. Duke stood once she was ready, and Izabelle took Steve’s hand when he reached out, following him to the SUV. She sat stiffly all the way home and didn’t fully relax until they were in the garage.

“How you doing, Izzy?” Steve asked softly, feeling the tension settle dramatically once the garage door closed.

She led the way inside and breathed a long sigh of relief, nodding. “Tired, which is stupid because I haven’t been awake that long,” Izabelle groaned. “I want to go for a shower, and then maybe a nap…”

“Then do it,” Steve replied softly. “It hasn’t been the easiest morning for you, so go and relax. I’ll wake you when it’s time for lunch if you’re not up by then.”

Izabelle nodded and was preoccupied as she made her way to the bedroom. She walked inside with Duke, gasping softly as she found Bucky walking out of the bathroom, nude. Her eyes widened before she closed them and turned away, blushing hard. “I’m so sorry, Bucky,” she whispered.

Reaching back into the bathroom and quickly grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist, he shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were home; I shouldn’t have been walking around like that,” he replied quickly. “After therapy, I went out for a run, came home to shower and didn’t expect you so soon. It’s my fault.” Bucky stepped back inside and pulled on a pair of jeans then padded barefoot to his dresser to pull a t-shirt over his head. He walked over to touch her arm, gently massaging her lower back as he said, “Freckles? Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m just… I didn’t mean to walk in, I’m so sorry,” she muttered, staring down at Duke. Izabelle’s mind flashed over the toned muscles she had glimpsed, and she fought the urge to groan. Bruce was right; she wasn’t too far off her heat, and the idea made her nervous.

“It’s not a problem at all,” he assured. “Everything went alright at the clinic?”

Izabelle nodded and glanced at him, knowing her face was still burning. “I’m just tired; I was going to shower and nap.”

Bucky pressed a kiss to her temple and nodded. “I won’t keep you from it then,” he promised.

She watched him go and let out a long sigh; she wasn’t sure how to handle her attraction to the men and was certain her heat was only days away. The thought made her nervous, but she pushed it aside and showered quickly, taking the nervous sweat from the morning off her skin. Wrapped in a towel, she stuck her head out to check the bedroom, found it empty, and walked over to the men’s dresser. Grabbing a t-shirt that she knew both of them fought over, she pulled it on with a pair of her underwear and climbed between the sheets with their scents wrapped around her. Duke jumped onto the bed and curled at her back, while Izabelle hugged the pillow to her chest, snuggling down to try and relax the morning away.

Izabelle wasn’t sure she fell asleep, but she lay quietly with the music playing on her phone and her eyes closed, resting.


	16. Chapter 16

Izabelle hummed softly as she heard soft footsteps coming into the room sometime later, scenting Bucky before she opened her eyes. “Hey,” she greeted softly.

He came to sit on the edge of the bed and tucked her hair behind her ear with a grin. “Is that our shirt?” Bucky asked with a laugh.

“It’s comfortable,” she replied with a shrug.

“That it is,” he agreed, stroking her back. “Steve barbequed burgers; they’re almost ready.”

Nodding, Izabelle stretched under the covers and yawned. “Yeah, okay. I’ll change and come out in a bit."  She watched him go and rolled onto her back, grabbing her phone. After sending off a message she waited, smiling at the response before finally climbing from the bed. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a sports bra but left the men’s shirt in place with a grin.  Izabelle walked out to the kitchen and watched as Steve’s face split into a broad smile.

“None of your clothes clean?” he teased.

“This is more comfortable,” Izabelle replied with a shrug. When the doorbell rang, the men frowned, and she said, “I invited Wanda over to talk. Just girls. And don’t worry, we won’t be going outside again.”

The men chuckled as Bucky went to open the door. Steve kissed Wanda’s cheek in greeting and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were coming, or I would have made a burger for you.”

“It’s fine, I ate already,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “You enjoy, I’ll pour myself a drink.”

The conversation was light, and once Izabelle had finished eating, she poured herself a cold drink and led Wanda upstairs to the loft. She grinned as Duke followed her, and once the women were settled into the beanbag chairs, she let out a long sigh.

“What did you want to ask me, Izzy?” Wanda started gently.

“How did you know?”

Wanda smiled and shrugged. “Call it a hunch; the guys seemed surprised when I showed up, so I know you didn’t tell them I was coming.”

Izabelle let out a long breath and nodded. “I had my follow-up at the clinic with Bruce this morning,” she started. “Everything is going well, I’m healing fine. But he said my heat could show up pretty much at any time, and I think he’s right. When I got home, I needed to lay down, I was just…”

“It’s taxing,” Wanda agreed with a nod when the redhead's voice dropped off.

“Yeah,” Izabelle said softly. “And I walked in on Bucky in the bedroom, and he was naked.” She set her glass aside and ran her hands through her hair, her face flushing. “And I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve seen Steve topless, and that flashes through my head… I don’t know what I’m going to do when my heat is actually here, Wanda. How did you handle yours when you stayed here? I mean, you were here for a year, weren’t you?”

Wanda studied the redhead with a quizzical frown and shook her head. “I was with Bucky,” she replied easily.

Izabelle startled and stared at the other omega. “But…they’re gay!”

A small smile formed, and Wanda shook her head. “No, Izzy, they’re not. Steve and Bucky are together, yes,” she explained. “But they’ve been with men and women; alphas, betas, and omegas. They don’t have a preference.”

“But I thought…” Izabelle’s voice died off as she stared at the other woman, her mind swimming as she went over how she had stripped off her clothes without a thought in front of the men, and the way Steve had turned away. “ _ Ohmygod _ …”

Wanda knelt on the ground in front of the bean bag chair and took the other woman’s hands. “It’s okay, Izzy,” she assured. “The guys are cool and have probably realized you didn’t know.”

“I’ve been naked in front of them, thinking it wouldn’t mean anything to them,” Izabelle whispered, mortified by her actions.

“And they’re in a position of care,” Wanda reminded her. “They’ve been looking after you. Although…”

Izabelle stared at her as Wanda moved back to her seat, frowning at the other woman. “What?”

Wanda shook her head. “I could be reading the situation wrong,” she replied.

“But you don’t think you are,” the redhead said firmly. “Or you wouldn’t have brought it up. What is it?”

“When you panicked last night and then scented Steve, he went full-on alpha,” Wanda said with a grin. “Pietro was going to approach, but for a second, Steve had a look of possessive-protection… I’ve never seen him with that look for anyone but Bucky when he used to have his own issues. It passed so quickly when he remembered that you aren’t his.”

Izabelle shook her head and laughed. “No, they don’t see me like that,” she denied quickly.

The brunette frowned and narrowed her eyes. “Do you really not see how they watch you?”

“They’re just making sure I’m okay,” Izabelle replied.

“Izzy.” Wanda made her name a sigh. “They’re trying their best not to scare you, but I can promise that both of those men are attracted to you. What was said at the clinic when Bruce brought up your heat?”

“Bruce asked if I had any plans on how to handle it, and Steve said that we hadn’t had the chance to discuss it, but as long as I was comfortable, it could be handled here at home.  _ Holy crap _ ,” she whispered, the pieces finally falling into place. “I had no idea what he meant.”

“Take a few deep breaths,” Wanda counseled softly. “Let things happen naturally; neither of them will push for anything you’re not ready for. Alright?”

Izabelle nodded and let out a long sigh. “Thank you.” She knew she was blushing furiously, and cupped her cheeks with her hands.

Wanda shook her head and sighed. “I know it’s hard when you don’t know what’s happening, or what to expect. Talking to someone is easier, especially someone who’s been there.” She heard the other woman’s stomach rumble and watched Izabelle put her hand on her stomach in surprise. “Yeah, it’s definitely getting closer. Go, get some food, I need to get back to the studio.”

“I appreciate you coming over,” Izabelle said as she stood, hugging the other omega.

The women walked downstairs, and Wanda made sure Izabelle went for food before she showed herself out. The brunette met Steve coming back from a run. She smiled and waved as he pulled out his headphones and met her next to her car.

“Everything okay?” he asked in concern.

“It’s fine,” Wanda assured. “Her heat is very close, and she wasn’t sure what to expect at the house.”

Running his hands through his hair, Steve paced away before he turned back. “I was going to sit Izzy down and talk to her this afternoon,” he explained.

Grinning, Wanda shrugged. “I sort of had the talk with her for you,” she explained. “She knows you’re not gay, and that Bucky helped me with mine. She’s…embarrassed for how often she’s been nude in front of you, assuming you were gay.”

Steve groaned. “Damn.”

“But she handled the information well,” Wanda continued. “She’s hungry again already; her body is prepping for her heat. She was getting food when I left.”

“Thank you. I’m glad she has you to answer questions,” Steve said with a sigh. “You’ve been in a position that none of us have, and it makes her feel better.”

Wanda nodded. “Of course. Any of you can call me anytime if you need me, any of you, you know that. And I’d give you a hug, but you’re all sweaty.”

He laughed and nodded. “Understood. Talk to you later, Wanda.”

Steve made his way inside and found Izabelle curled on the couch watching a movie, eating a sandwich. She glanced up and flushed, averting her gaze. He let out a long sigh and moved to sit on the coffee table across from her, waiting patiently for her to look up. He sat forward, leaning his forearms onto his knees, and when she met his gaze, he offered her a gentle smile. “Please don’t be embarrassed, Izabelle,” he said quietly. “I was going to talk to you this afternoon; Nat told me you didn’t realize about me and Bucky. And I’m sorry. We didn’t want to frighten you.”

“I just… I assumed when I agreed to come here, and didn’t think outside of that,” Izabelle replied. “I just knew you two were together, and…”

“And it was natural to think that,” Steve agreed. “Bucky and I have been together for a long time. For the most part, we’ve been exclusive, but when we take in omegas, we’ve agreed that during heats, if the omega picks one, or both, of us, then we’re okay with that.”

Izabelle stared at him and nodded, then down at her now-empty plate. “It’s going to be soon,” she admitted. “I just don’t know when. And I don’t know…”

Reaching out, Steve cupped her cheek and brought her face up to meet his gaze. “If you’re not comfortable with either me or Bucky, there are toys for omegas available; new ones we bought just after you got here. You can close yourself into your room and ignore us. Whatever you want, we will follow your lead, always, Izabelle.”

She let out a long sigh and nodded. “Just see how it goes, I guess,” she muttered, chewing the inside of her cheek.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Now, I’m going to go for a shower, and Bucky wanted to run out and get some protein shakes; from past experience, they’re the easiest on the stomach when a heat hits and you don’t want actual food.”

“He went downstairs to work on his arm,” she said softly.

Steve nodded. “All right. Let him know I’m home?”

Izabelle agreed and watched him move off, before slowly venturing downstairs. She had never been fully into the basement and stared around at the array of weights and various other equipment the men had set about. When she turned to Bucky, it was to see him watching her, and she flushed. “Sorry, I’ve just… I haven’t been down here,” she admitted.

“You’re welcome to look around,” he said with a wave of his hand, setting down the weights. "And you're always welcome to join us; we can show you how to use the equipment if you like."

“Steve just wanted me to tell you that he’s back from his run,” she replied softly. “He said you wanted to go out.”

He grinned and nodded. “What flavours do you think you’d like for shakes? I figure I’ll pick up a few, just to have some variety.”

Izabelle thought for a moment and shook her head. “Chocolate for sure. Beyond that… I’ve never really had them? So, I don’t know.”

They walked upstairs and he nodded. “I’ll pick some that Steve and I like and that are easy to take on the stomach. Variety is always nice when I know you won’t want much food,” Bucky said. “I’ll be home in a little while.” He kissed the side of her head, grabbed his keys and left.


	17. Chapter 17

Izabelle woke slowly the next morning, nuzzling at the clothed chest under her cheek, her hand roaming across it. She kicked at the covers, too hot to have them covering her before she ran her leg over his thigh. She was barely awake and aware of her actions.

Steve, however, had woken at her first whimper, sharing a glance with Bucky, who had pulled back. The dark-haired alpha grinned at Steve when it seemed obvious her body had chosen between them and slipped from the bedroom silently. Steve brushed the hair from Izabelle’s face, watching as she turned into the touch. “Sweetheart,” he murmured.

She crawled up his body to scent him, waking with her nose buried in his neck. “Shit,” she whispered, stiffening.

“Easy,” he replied, his hands holding her gently, stroking her back. “Take a few deep breaths for me, Izabelle.” She did, her forehead resting against his neck while her body relaxed, and Steve nodded. “Good. Now, your body seems to know what it wants. We can try, and if you become uncomfortable, we stop. That easy.”

“You’re sure?” Izabelle asked uncertainly, pulling back to study him.

Cupping her face with both hands, Steve smiled. “You tell me to stop, and I stop; no explanations, no questions. It’s your body, Izabelle. I promise, it really is that simple,” he said softly.

She nodded and climbed up his body to hover over his mouth, licking her lips as she stared down at him. Izabelle brushed her lips over his lightly as his thumbs stroked her cheeks, staring down into his eyes. Hers drifted closed as she kissed him hesitantly, her hands running under his shirt to feel his skin underneath.

Steve slowly sat up, kept his hands on her back as he moved so she was steady, until Izabelle sat straddling his thigh, and he could reach up to pull his t-shirt over his head. He tossed it to the side and returned his hands to rest gently at her waist while he smiled softly at her as her eyes grew wide and raked over his body. “Tell me what you want me to do, sweetheart,” he murmured.

Placing her hand over his, she slowly moved one up under her shirt on her overheated skin while she met his eyes. Her breath shuddered while she leaned up to nip at his lower lip and whispered, “Touch me.”

Her legs were on either side of his thigh, balanced on his leg. His hands held her hips to steady her for a moment, then slowly pulled her shirt over her head, giving her time to protest if she wanted, all the while staring into her eyes to gauge her reactions.

Izabelle’s breath shuddered from her lips as her eyelids grew heavy. He tossed the shirt aside before his hands returned to run along her sides, one cupping her breast gently, his thumb ghosting over her nipple. Her mind was growing hazy as her blood rushed through her ears; her heat was hitting her faster than she had expected, and she struggled to breathe and keep herself calm.

Cupping her cheek with one hand, Steve kissed her lips gently, then along her chin to bury his face into her hair as his other hand roamed. “Deep breaths, Izabelle,” he whispered. He felt her hands trace over his chest and back, her nails scraping along his skin.

She rocked her hips against his thigh, feeling him grow hard against her leg, whining softly as she bit his shoulder, then froze. “I’m sorry,” she whispered in horror.

Steve felt her grow still in his arms and frowned, then realized she was afraid. Drawing back so he could see her face, he drew her up to meet his eyes and smiled as his other hand stroked down her back. “Bite me as much as you want, Izzy; believe me, I don’t mind,” he assured.

“But you’re the alpha,” she whispered.

Chuckling, he shook his head. “I don’t mind it a little rough, believe me,” Steve promised before he kissed her softly.

Izabelle deepened the kiss with a growl, one hand reaching into his hair and digging her fingers into his scalp. He lay back down, slowly pulling her with him, and she followed gladly. She shifted, climbing fully onto his body so she straddled his hips and bit her way down his neck to his chest. They were still clothed from the waist down still, but she rode him, whining softly as her heat continued to grow, until she buried her forehead against his neck and whimpered.

Steve buried one hand into her hair, and ran the other down her body slowly, into her pyjama pants to slowly stroke her. She shivered above him, her body pressing further down onto his fingers, and he smiled as he heard Izabelle cry out when her orgasm quickly shuddered through her.

She reached down with one hand, the other balanced on his chest as she came up to kiss him, to push at her pyjamas. The material rubbed at her skin and irritated her, and she wanted them off. Steve helped, but once her clothing was off, Izabelle reached for his. Between the two of them, it was tossed aside, and she lay atop him, her hands cupping his face, as she nipped at his lips and kissed him deeply.

He ran his hands over her inflamed skin, marvelling at the number of scars he could feel, and groaned as she positioned her knees on either side of his hips, rubbing herself along his erection. Her thighs were wet with her arousal, and he felt one of her hands reach down to grip him, stroking gently as she sat up. Steve took her wrist to make her pause. “You don’t have to rush,” he assured.

“I need to,” she replied hoarsely. “He’d make me wait until he wanted it, not when I’d need it. Please.”

Steve smiled and nodded, kissing her briefly and releasing her wrist. “I’m here for whatever you need, Izabelle,” he assured and lifted his legs to plant his feet on the mattress.

She guided him inside her and sank slowly down until their hips met, sitting up and arching her back. A low moan escaped her chest and Izabelle’s hips shuddered; this was a position she had never done before, and though she did not want to compare them, Steve was definitely bigger than she had taken before. Izabelle felt stretched full and took a moment to steady herself, reaching back a hand to balance on Steve’s knee, as she slowly rotated her hips. A low sound of pleasure escaped her.

He watched her above him with hooded eyes and used every ounce of his self-control to let her take the lead. Steve knew she likely never had control over her own body in the last decade, and unless she gave him permission, it was all on her.

Izabelle had realized what he was doing as well, and was thankful, but knew she needed his help to get what she wanted. Leaning over, she braced herself on his shoulders and started to ride him, hovering over his mouth and whispering, “Take me, alpha,” before she kissed him.

One of his hands stayed on her hips, the other buried into her hair, as he began to slowly thrust up to meet her. He felt her breath shudder against his mouth, and pulled back to gauge her reaction, smiled when he saw her eyes closed and face drawn in pleasure. He nipped at her lips and drew her back in and brought his hand from his hip down between them to stroke her.

She cried out against his lips and pressed against his hand, trying to ride him harder but not wanting to lose contact with his fingers. “More,” she whispered. Izabelle was thankful he understood when his thrusts increased, but she could feel his knot beginning to swell and she moaned softly.

Steve felt her grow wetter, knew she was responding to his knot, and he flicked her clit, drawing away from her lips to whisper into her ear. “You want my knot, Izabelle?” When she nodded frantically, he continued, “You need to come for me first.”

The order was all it took. A burst of pleasure exploded through her and she cried out, her body shuddering above him. Steve continued to thrust as his knot swelled. With a firm push, he lodged himself inside her and came, both hands gripping her hips to roll her body with him as he released inside of her.

Izabelle lay on top of him, her forehead on his collarbone, trembling, as her body slowly settled. One of his arms wrapped around her hips while the other stroked her back gently, he pressed a kiss to her forehead as she whispered, “Thank you.”

Steve looked down at her, a confused frown on his face. “For what, Izabelle?”

“I needed a knot, but you didn’t have to make me come,” she replied shyly.

He took in the information and tampered down the anger that wanted to surface; the sentence spoke volumes as to what her life had been like. “Yes, Izabelle, I did,” he replied firmly.

She flushed and looked up at him, then around the room as if just realizing they were alone. “Where did Bucky go?”

Steve grinned and reached out to stroke her cheek, letting out a groan as his body released into her again, closing his eyes briefly and letting out a soft sigh. “He left with Duke just as you were waking up,” Steve replied. “We didn’t think you’d want an audience.”

“He could have stayed,” she replied softly. “It’s not like I haven’t taken two knots at once…”

He let out a dark growl, feeling her shiver against him, and Steve shook his head at himself. “I’m sorry, Izabelle. I’m not angry at you,” he assured gently. “I just want to kill Rumlow for how he treated you; there are ways you treat any omega, but especially your mate. And believe me, he didn’t follow any of it.”

Izabelle stared up at him in awe and shook her head slightly. She brought her arms up to rest on his chest and stared up at his face, studying him closely. She hadn’t met any alphas like the pair she was staying with, and Izabelle knew that the last decade with Brock had skewed her views on how she should be treated. Staying with the men now, her mind was having to re-learn a lot of things.

Steve grabbed a sheet from the side and pulled it over them, kissing along her cheek. He smiled when she stroked his cheek and leaned up to bring her lips to his, sharing a long, soft kiss. He groaned and rolled his hips as his body released into hers again, chuckling against her as she moaned into him. Drawing away, he asked, “How long do you heats last, Izabelle? I know it’s a little different for each omega.”

“A few days, I think,” she replied, licking her lips. “It was hard to tell in there…”

He kissed her again, not wanting her mind to dwell on her time in captivity, glad when she responded to him. His hands stroked her gently, and as she pulled back, she had a small frown on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re sure Bucky isn’t jealous?”

“Sweetheart, it’s all right, I promise.”

“It is,” Bucky’s voice sounded from the door.

Izabelle glanced over her shoulder at him and was glad they were covered by the sheet since she was still tied to the blond alpha, as the other one came to sit on the edge of the bed. “I just…”

Steve’s fingers came to cover her lips gently as he kissed her temple. “Bucky and I are secure with each other; we’ve been together for a long time. And we’re in an open relationship with an agreement; we help omegas who are in our care  _ if _ they decide they want our help,” he explained.

“Sometimes, they’ve decided they don’t want us, and they go through the clinic or use toys,” Bucky continued. “And that’s fine, it’s their choice. But some, they want the physical connection they’ve started building with us.”

“Where’s Duke?” she asked suddenly, realizing she hadn’t seen the dog since her everything had begun.

“He stays with Nat and Clint while any omega is in heat,” Bucky explained. “Duke’s training doesn’t always distinguish between the types of distress, and it’s difficult for him to be in the same house, and not be able to reach you, so he goes for a visit.”

“Ahhh, makes sense. Have you two ever…” Izabelle’s voice died off and she had to clear her throat before she could continue as her face burned in embarrassment. “Have you ever shared an omega?”

The men shared a glance at her flushed face, and knowing her history with Rumlow and Rollins, shook their heads. “Not in the way you mean, no,” Bucky admitted.

Izabelle nodded and stifled a yawn, which Steve noticed, stroking her hair. “Get some rest; this was only the first wave,” he advised.

“Bucky, come cuddle,” she murmured, reaching out her hand.

He smiled and moved up to lay next to them, spooning along Steve’s side and wrapping his arm around them both. Bucky leaned up to kiss Izabelle’s shoulder and said, “Sleep, Freckles. We’re both here.”

*****


	18. Chapter 18

Izabelle groaned, stretching where she lay on the mattress. Steve’s knot had eased and released her hours ago, and she had cuddled to his far side, not wanting to disturb Bucky who was sound asleep. Now, she curled into a ball and whined, painful cramps making her draw in on herself.

“Izzy,” Bucky murmured softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He watched her uncurl herself slightly, reaching for his hand. “Steve will be right back, Freckles.”

“Make the pain stop,” she begged, rolling onto her back and pulling him closer. “Help me, please.”

He watched her eyes open and study him, and Bucky frowned as he propped himself up on one arm, studying her. In their history of taking care of omegas, they had bonded to one of the alphas and never wanted the other to touch them during a heat cycle. Bucky worried she was not fully aware and needed to be certain. He had stilled his hand on her chest and watched her turn towards him. “Are you sure?”

Izabelle’s body arched towards his touch and she whined, nodding. “Bucky, please…”

Bucky rolled over and kissed her gently on the lips, then worked his way down her body. He had gently wiped her body down with a washcloth after she had fallen asleep, but it still wouldn’t have made a difference to him either way for what he had planned. Bucky fought with himself not to bite her skin on the way down her torso, uncertain how she would react to it given her history. Instead, he ran his tongue along her overheated skin, tasting the saltiness of her sweat, and made his way down between her legs.

He felt her pause as he licked at her thighs, both already wet with her arousal, and Bucky glanced up to see her frowning at him. “He never did this for you, did he?” Bucky watched Izabelle bite her lip while she shook her head slightly. He ran his tongue through her folds slowly while he studied her face, saw her throw her head back into the pillows while a pleasured sound escaped her. Bucky smiled and sucked her clit into his mouth, bringing one hand up to slide two fingers deep inside her, using his other arm to hold her hips in place.

Izabelle shivered and pressed down against his mouth, one of her hands burying into his hair and tugging at him. His fingers ran over a spot keep inside of her that made her body twitch and she cried out. She felt needy, her body ached, and as badly as she was enjoying what he was doing, she wanted more.

Her thighs tightened on either side of his face as her orgasm broke, and Bucky continued to thrust his fingers, prolonged her pleasure until she pulled away from him. Drawing back, he kissed up her thighs and studied Izabelle’s face, until a sound to the side drew his attention.

Steve leaned in the bathroom’s doorway watching the pair with hungry eyes, and Izabelle reached her hand out to him. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed, taking her hand, asking, “What do you want, sweetheart?” he asked softly, kissing her knuckles.

Bucky had moved to lay off to her side, giving her some room to think, but Izabelle’s mind was still hazy, and she brought her hands up to cover her face. “I don’t… I need a knot, but I…”

Hearing the uncertainty in her voice, Steve pulled her hands down. “What if I knot you, and Bucky can take me?” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her shoulder.

Izabelle glanced between the men; her eyes wide. “You’d be all right with that?”

Bucky chuckled; his voice low. “We take turns bottoming, so either way doesn’t bother us,” he assured her.

She nodded and turned to Steve, pulling him across her body. He grinned and kissed her, settling between her legs and sliding into her body easily and listening to her groan. Steve thrust slowly even as she writhed, all while hearing Bucky moving and knowing what he was gathering before Steve stilled. When Izabelle whined, Steve stroked her cheek and murmured, “Just give us a minute, sweetheart.”

Izabelle was going to ask what he meant, then heard Steve growl deep in his chest, felt the vibrations against her breasts, and looked over his shoulder to see Bucky grinning wickedly. She flushed as she realized the dark-haired alpha was prepping the man buried deep inside of her and she shuddered.

“Are you still alright, Izabelle?” Steve asked in concern, staring down at her.

Her face was flushed, her breathing deep with arousal, and she nodded, whispering, “Please.”

“Ready for me, punk?” Bucky growled, bending to bite the blond’s back, hard enough to bruise.

Steve gasped and pressed deeper into Izabelle, who moaned, while he nodded. “Babe, you’re killing me here,” he replied.

Laughing, Bucky slowly pressed his way inside his lover, watching Izabelle’s face closely, to make certain they weren’t causing her any discomfort with their combined weight. “You okay there, Izzy?”

“Move, _please_ ,” she begged, trying to arch her hips but weighed down under the men.

Bucky drew back, allowing Steve to, then pushed back hard and fast. Izabelle gasped, and both of the men watched her face, but seeing the pleasure, continued. The dark-haired alpha sunk his teeth back into Steve’s back, broke the skin while riding him hard, growling darkly, letting his momentum carry through to Izabelle. Steve knew he wouldn’t last long, his lover hitting just the right spot. Izabelle’s legs were draped over his own thighs and he reached between them to stroke her, needing to ensure her pleasure before he reached his own as he sucked at the skin of her neck.

Izabelle cried out, the combined weight drove Steve far enough in that it almost made it painful, but her orgasm broke just as she might have asked them to stop. It was washed away in the pleasure and she raked her nails down their skin; one hand on each of the men’s arms, her thighs shaking.

“There it is,” Bucky murmured. Now that she had reached her peak, he felt free to and groaned, letting go and filling the blond before he rolled off, not to crush the couple. Collapsed on the bed, he watched them.

Steve himself cried out, his knot releasing, and he shuddered, his arms braced on either side of Izabelle as he kissed her softly. He felt Bucky’s hand reaching over to stroke the omega’s body and she whimpered softly, her hips twitching against him. Hearing the sound, Steve reached down and stroked her, pulling back and watching her face as he brought her again, smiling even as his hips rolled as she clenched around his knot, making him thrust into her again. “There we go,” he whispered.

Stretching one of her legs out, Steve rolled them onto their side, still buried deep inside her, her other leg hiked over his hip. Bucky moved up to spoon along her back, gently stroking along her side.

“Izabelle?” Steve asked softly.

“I’m here,” she replied dreamily.

“Just checking,” he said with a grin. “Get some sleep. We’ll shower and have some food next time you’re awake, okay?” When she growled unhappily, the men chuckled. “Let us worry about it. You just sleep.”

“Fine,” she mumbled, half-way there.

*****


	19. Chapter 19

A few days later, Bucky lifted Izabelle from the bed to carry her to the bath he had drawn while Steve changed the sheets. Her heat had been satisfied for the moment, now he wanted to tend to her. Izabelle’s head fell against his neck and she clung to his shoulder as he tried to put her into the water alone. Smiling, he climbed in with her, running his hands over her skin to soothe her. “I’ll stay, Izzy,” he assured.

The water was warm, and Izabelle’s skin had cooled off enough she shivered as they sunk into the tub. She let Bucky lean her back and he started washing her hair, nearly boneless as she asked, “What made you guys get Duke?”

He smiled softly as he conditioned her hair and braided it while he explained. “He was my therapy dog first. When I first came home from the hospital, Steve was still deployed, and I wasn’t coping well,” he replied. “Nat was helpful, and I met with her daily back then. We had another dog, a female named Duchess, first.”

“Duke and Duchess?” Izabelle asked with a grin as she glanced over her shoulder.

Bucky chuckled and nodded, kissing the side of her head as he settled her back against his chest and hugging her against him. “Duchess was a German Sheppard, and matched with me for my PTSD,” he explained softly. “Never left my side as I went through therapy. My nightmares used to be horrific. When Steve came home, I was afraid to sleep in the same bed; worried I’d hurt him.”

Izabelle stiffened against him and tried to pull away, but he held her close and she rubbed her hand lightly down the scars on his arm. “Is my being here making it worse?” she whispered.

“Izzy, everything he did had nothing to do with you,” Bucky reassured, resting his chin on her shoulder. He gently rubbed their cheeks together and wished he could assuage her guilt over Brock’s actions. “What would have happened if you’d tried to stop him?” Bucky asked softly.

“He…” Clenching her eyes closed she turned sideways and burrowed further into his arms. “He would’ve beaten me. Or worse.”

Clenching his jaw, Bucky let out a breath and nodded. “Exactly. Steve and I don’t hold any of it against you. I promise you that.”

Izabelle swallowed hard and let out a long breath, slowly relaxing into him again. “So, you got Duchess,” she prompted.

He grinned and kissed her forehead, running a hand over her back. “So, I got Duchess,” he agreed. “And therapy went well, I started physio with Sam. We discussed it and decided to open our house to omegas who needed it. And since I had Steve as my support, Duchess started spending time with the omegas when they were here. They all usually suffered some kind of trauma before they got to us. But eventually Duchess got sick, and we discovered she had cancer.”

“I’m so sorry, Bucky,” Izabelle whispered.

He held her close quietly for several minutes, nose buried in her hair and just relaxed, taking in the comfort she offered. “After a little while, I noticed I didn’t do well without a dog in the house,” he continued. “And it was decided another therapy dog was a good idea since I can… I have some anger issues every now and then that crop up. I’m a lot better than I used to be, but I still trigger.”

“I can’t imagine why,” she replied with a laugh.

Bucky grinned, glad to hear her making jokes. “And that’s when we got Duke.” He felt Izabelle start running her hands through his hair, her nails dragging against his scalp, making him grin. Her heat was starting to flare back up as she nuzzled her cheek into his, her skin feeling hotter than the bathwater. “Time to get out,” he murmured as she bit at his chin. Bucky pulled the stopper and wrapped his arms around her, standing as the water swirled down the drain.

Tossing a towel on the counter so it wouldn’t be too cold for her skin, he sat Izabelle down to dry her off, chuckling when she wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him against her. Her arms snaked around his shoulders and she continued to bite as his chest, licking off the water as he tried to towel her off. “Do you want me to get Steve, Izabelle?” he asked carefully, voice drawn low. Though he had been nearby or in the bed since her heat began, she had only been with the other alpha.

She reached between them to stroke his growing erection, staring into his eyes before she frowned and paused, drawing back. “Will Steve be mad?”

“No, Izzy,” Bucky assured quickly, dropping the towel and cupping her cheeks with a smile. “You get to choose what you want, remember?” Her hand renewed its stroking and she leaned forward to kiss him, but he pulled back to shake his head slightly. “Not on the counter; I want you comfortable. C’mon.”

Izabelle wrapped her legs around his waist when he drew her in, licking up his throat as he carried her back into the bedroom. He tumbled them onto the bed, catching his weight on one hand so he wouldn’t crush her, his mouth seeking hers. She wouldn’t lay still under him, her hands running over his skin as needy sounds whined from her throat. Sliding his tongue into her mouth as she groaned, Bucky pulled one of her thighs high onto his hip and eased himself into her body, feeling her grip him tightly.

Izabelle drew away from his lips to gasp, drawing her nails down his back and feeling him shudder in response. He pulled back and started a slow pace, even as she pulled at his hair and bit his shoulders. She heard another sound and glanced up to see Steve watching with hooded eyes in the doorway. Beckoning him closer, Izabelle groaned as Bucky hit a particular spot deep inside of her, making her entire body twitch, her back arching.

“What can I do, Izzy?” Steve asked softly.

“Knot my mouth,” she whispered, voice drawn low.

Both men froze at her words, eyes wide as they shared a look. Taking her hand, Steve shook his head. “Izabelle, I’m not going to do that,” he replied firmly even as she whimpered.

Bucky drew her back to him by kissing her, reaching between them to stroke her clit and increasing his pace. His knot started to swell and as Izabelle cried out, he let himself go; thrusting harder until it released and tied them together.

Izabelle let out a sigh of contentment as he rolled them over and she settled onto his chest. She yawned tiredly and stared at Steve as she murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, sweetheart. Get some sleep,” he assured, leaning up to kiss her forehead.

The men were awake and tense until she was sound asleep, stroking and soothing her. When Bucky’s knot released, he settled Izabelle onto the bed and tucked the blanket around her as he watched Steve stalk to the bathroom, following behind him. Inside he found the blond hunched over the sink, gripping the counter, his shoulders tight. “Breathe, Punk,” he advised.

“They’d knot her _mouth_?” he growled softly, afraid of waking the woman in the other room. “They could’ve killed her! Suffocated her, or broken teeth…”

Coming over to rub at his shoulders, Bucky hugged him and laid his head on the other man’s shoulder. “But she’s here,” he reminded. It was the first time he had seen Steve truly lose the tight control he kept over his emotions since the omega had arrived. “We knew that Rumlow and Rollins shared her. And probably more than just that way. It’s her heat talking. We just have to help her through it; she’s been conditioned by them.”

Nodding, Steve let out a long breath, letting the tension go with it. He turned and hugged Bucky, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “We should get back. Don’t know how long she’ll sleep this time,” he said softly. “Thanks, Babe.”

Running a hand down his face, Bucky nodded. “Always.” 


	20. Chapter 20

Izabelle stretched herself awake a week after her heat had begun, her mind clear and her body calm. She curled into the warm chest beneath her head and glanced up to see Steve smiling down at her as reached down to stroke her cheek. “Morning,” she said sleepily.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Morning,” he replied. “It seems to have passed. How are you feeling?”

“Good. I ache, but not in a bad way,” Izabelle replied, feeling a blush wash up her face as she buried her face against him.

Steve grinned and hugged her against him. “Ah, Izzy,” he said softly. “It’s not a bad thing, and nothing to be embarrassed over, believe me. Now, Bucky went to make something for breakfast, because we thought your heat might be ending based on your scent changing. We thought you might like some solid food.”

“I should go for a shower,” Izabelle said with a soft groan, even as she snuggled against him closed her eyes.

“We can stay here longer if you want,” he murmured, running his fingers through her long curls. “No rush to do anything today.”

She hummed contentedly, then rolled onto her back and stretched her hands above her head and pointed her toes, letting out another long groan. “Yeah, long hot shower and wash my hair,” she announced. “Then food; my stomach is starting to realize that it wants something other than protein shakes.”

“I agree,” Steve said nod. Though the men had been able to eat some solid food while Izabelle had bathed, napped, or been having protein drinks herself, she had barely eaten solid food in a week. “Take your time, I’m gonna hop in for a quick shower. Do you want me to run you a bath?”

Izabelle shook her head. “No, I’ll shower when you’re done,” she said softly. “I might fall asleep in the bath and drown.”

He pushed to his feet while chuckling but turned and kissed her softly before wandering into the bathroom. Izabelle watched him go before pulling the covers over her head. Her mind went back over everything that had happened from the last few days, remembering the aches and looking over the bruises that she could see on her body; she could feel her face burning.

She settled the covers under her arms as she thought back. Izabelle had lost count of the number of times she had taken their knots; though Steve had been the one looking after her for the most part, Bucky had also knotted her as well. And even though she had more than once begged to take them both at once, the alphas had resisted and soothed her. Izabelle was embarrassed by how she had acted, but Steve and Bucky had treated her with such care, she knew they were showing her what true alphas were.

Steve opened the bathroom door once he was dressed and saw the introspective look on her face. He leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed, with a small frown. “Everything okay over there?”

Izabelle smiled and nodded, wrapping the sheet around herself as she sat up. “Yeah, I’m good,” she said softly. She ducked past him and into the bathroom, waiting until he was in the bedroom with the door shut firmly behind him before she stripped naked, which she snorted at herself for. The trio had spent nearly a week naked in bed, and now she was embarrassed being nude in front of the alpha.

Steve made his way to the kitchen and found Bucky pulling a quiche from the oven, muffins already cooling on the counter. “Babe, you didn’t have to make this much,” he said with a smile, pulling the dark-haired man in for a soft kiss.

“I wasn’t sure how hungry Izzy would be,” Bucky admitted. “I wanted eggs, so I made the frittata. But I know sometimes omegas don’t want anything that heavy.”

Steve nodded and poured himself a cup of coffee, taking a long swallow and groaning at the taste. “I wonder how Nat and Clint are managing with Duke? Seven days; it’s the longest I think they’ve had him,” he commented, pulling out his phone to message the couple.

“True. Most omegas that have stayed with us are usually four days; longest was five,” Bucky agreed. “A full week… I can’t help but wonder if it has to do with whatever Rumlow did to her.”

Hearing a dark growl in his lover’s voice, Steve set down the coffee cup and his phone before he could send the text, he moved to hug the other man and stroked a hand through his hair. “She’s safe, Buck,” Steve reminded him. They had spent the week reminding one another of the same things each time Izabelle slept, after she had wanted them both at the same time, calming one another’s anger and frustration at what had been done to the young woman. “We’ve got her, and he can’t hurt her.”

Relaxing into the blond’s arms, Bucky nodded and pulled back with a sigh after a few minutes. He could hear the omega coming down the hall and did not want her to see him upset. Kissing Steve quickly, he turned to smile at the young woman who appeared at the hallway’s entrance, looking uncertain. “What’s wrong, Izzy?”

“I was just…wondering what happens now?” she asked softly.

Steve smiled at her gently and held out a hand to her. He waited patiently for her to take it, then drew her into his side. “Izzy, we realize that what happened during your heat was physically driven,” he explained. “Now, we go back to helping you reintroduce into the world. I’ll message Nat and Clint, and invite them over for dinner so they can bring back Duke, okay? And in the meantime, we all need some food.”

Izabelle leaned her head against his chest and stifled a yawn. “Is it bad I want to nap after that?”

Bucky chuckled and set out plates and utensils. “It’ll take another day or so for your body to be back to normal,” he replied. “Have some food, then we can put on a movie and you can nap then.”

“Deal.”

*****

Izabelle had been nearly flattened by Duke as he rushed into the house, inspecting her carefully to make certain she was all right. She laughed heartily the entire time, and throughout dinner, the dog had kept his head in her lap. “I hope he didn’t drive you two crazy?” she asked softly before she got up to start clearing the dishes.

“He went looking for you,” Nat replied with a grin. “But we’re used to that when we take care of him; Duke searches for the omegas.”

“And you?” Clint asked gently. “How are you feeling.”

Izabelle knew it was the nurse in him asking, but she still blushed as she loaded the dishwasher. “I’m okay,” she replied, nodding as she glanced at him, putting on the kettle. “Things went… I didn’t freak out, which I actually kind of expected.” She had found neither of the men could take her from behind. The position caused her anxiety to skyrocket and nearly set off a panic attack. Steve had only attempted it once, and quickly noted her reaction; Izabelle’s heat had been temporarily pushed back as she scrambled into the bedroom’s corner. When she had been locked in the shed, it was the only way Brock had taken her, and without being able to see who was with her, Izabelle panicked. Bucky and Steve easily understood, and both made certain she had full-view of who was touching her.

Blowing out a long, steady breath Izabelle cleared her throat to bring her mind back to the kitchen and looked outside. “Let’s take the coffee and tea outside to the covered part of the deck,” she said softly.

The group stilled and Steve stopped readying the cups to turn to her. “Are you sure, sweetheart?”

“I need to try going out there, and I think it’ll be easier with you this time,” she said softly.

He leaned down to kiss her temple and smiled. “Okay. As long as you promise that if you need to come inside…”

“I’ll tell you, I swear,” she agreed.

Steve nodded and handed out the mugs to everyone, setting various cookies on a platter and carrying them outside. The group settled onto the porch, and once he set down the plate and sat down, Izabelle cuddled into his side. Steve wrapped an arm around her, smiling as Bucky sat on her other side, setting a hand on her knee, and Duke lay across her feet.

Natasha and Clint settled across from the trio, the woman smiling at the comfort that had built between them. “Izabelle, I did a little bit of digging during the last week,” she started gently.

“Digging?” Izabelle asked with a frown.

“I looked for your cousin that you mentioned,” Natasha explained. “The one you thought forgot you.”

Steve felt the omega stiffen next to him and he hugged her tighter to him. “What did you find, Nat?” he asked softly.

“Turns out, Scott lives half an hour from here. And he hasn’t forgotten you at all,” the female alpha replied. “He runs a page online about you being missing, and posts to it routinely throughout the year; holidays, your birthday, and the anniversary of the day you disappeared. All messages written to you, Izzy.”

Izabelle swallowed hard at the thought that Scott had actually missed her, that he had been posting messages for her all these years. The hand holding her tea started to shake and Bucky had to take it from her, so she didn’t spill it. “I had no idea,” she whispered hoarsely.

“And I don’t mean to upset you,” Natasha assured softly. “I just thought you might like to know; he didn’t give up on you. And, if you want, we can arrange for you two to get in touch again.”

“I thought that wasn’t allowed?” Izabelle asked in confusion.

“We’d have to get clearance with Fury, but it’s not like you’re trying to connect with someone who you were in direct contact with right before you came here,” Bucky explained gently. “And we wouldn’t allow face-to-face right away, you’d be starting with phone or video chats. But all of this is only if you want to, Freckles.”

Izabelle thought silently for a few minutes. She had managed to start rebuilding herself, but Scott had always been a positive person. He was funny, sweet, almost like an uncle to her; he was over a decade older than her. She knew Scott never could have protected her from Brock; Rumlow would have simply killed the beta. But the more she thought about it, she knew he would have tried. Izabelle would never have wanted to put him in that position but wondered if the man felt some guilt over her disappearance, and it made her heart hurt.

“I’d like to talk to him,” she admitted.

“I’ll talk to Fury and start arranging things,” Natasha said gently.

Izabelle cuddled further into Steve’s arms as she nodded, her eyes studying the backyard. She let out a long breath and felt his arms tighten around her, making her smile slightly and look up at him.

“You’re doing really well, Izzy,” he assured her.

“The fact you even suggested coming to sit out here is a big step,” Clint commented with a smile.

The conversation was light, and as time passed Izabelle dozed off against Steve’s chest, causing the others to grin. Bucky saw Natasha and Clint out while Steve carried her to the bedroom. Izabelle woke long enough to use the restroom and strip down to her underwear and pull on a tank top; though she would love to have slept nude next to the men, she was uncertain what they would have thought. Bucky and Steve wore their boxers, and the trio crawled into bed, cuddling her in the middle while Duke lay across the bottom of the bed.

*****


	21. Chapter 21

Izabelle woke before the men the next morning and made her way to the kitchen to make muffins for breakfast. She was pulling them out of the oven as the men emerged from the bedroom and turned to smile. “Morning,” she greeted. “Banana pecan?”

“Sounds delicious,” Bucky said with a nod, pouring himself a cup of coffee, noting she already had a cup. “How’s your stomach feel?”

“So far, okay. I’m going slow with it, I’ll only have one cup today,” she replied with a shrug. “But I missed coffee, thought I’d give it a go.”

“You’ll never know unless you try,” Steve agreed. “Pepper messaged me last night, just after you dozed off; she’d like to examine you now that your heat is over. She’ll be at the clinic today.”

“Not Bruce again?” Izabelle asked in surprise, having seen only the beta since going to the clinic.

“I think Pepper wants to see how you’re adjusting,” Bucky interjected. “It’s not unusual for them to switch off since they’re both at the clinic from time to time.”

“Oh, okay,” she said with a grin. Izabelle let out a breath and ate some of her breakfast, smiling down at Duke where he lay at her feet. “Yeah, we can go after breakfast, if that works.”

Steve smiled gently at her, glad she seemed more confident in herself. “Perfect, sweetheart.”

“I have Sam coming over for therapy; are you okay going without me?” Bucky interjected, reaching out to take her hand and squeezing it.

Izabelle swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, I should be. I managed the last one,” she agreed, even though she frowned slightly. She had been out of the house with just Steve before, and though this appointment was likely to be just as thorough, the thought did not scare her as much since her heat had passed.

“We can cuddle and watch a movie when you come home,” he promised.

“Deal,” Izabelle agreed with a grin. She finished eating and drank her coffee then changed while Steve put on Duke’s vest. Though her shoulders were tense as she got into the car, she turned on the music once in the SUV, still hating silence.

Steve glanced over and saw her watching the scenery pass by, smiling and reaching over to take her hand. “You’ve come a long way, Izzy,” he commented gently, reaching over to take her hand.

“Sometimes I feel like I have,” she agreed. “It comes and goes, but I think I’m slowly getting there.

“You are,” he agreed, squeezing her fingers.

Izabelle studied him for a few minutes while he drove, then went back to watching the scenery until they reached the clinic. Inside she was surprised to see Tony with Pepper and watched him peck her cheek before the couple turned to Steve and Izabelle. Tony’s face lit up and he grinned. “Heya, Kid. You look like you’re feeling better.”

Pepper slapped his shoulder, but Izabelle grinned and shook her head. “I am. Certainly from when you saw me last,” she agreed. “How are you, Mr. Stark?”

“It’s Tony, please,” he insisted, shaking his head. “Don’t make me feel  _ that _ old, will ya?”

Giggling, she nodded in return. “Fair enough.

Tony watched Steve and Pepper share a surprised look at the happy sound that came from the young woman, while he continued to speak to her. “I’m doing well, Kid. Glad to see you out of the house, and with the ever-faithful pup. But I won’t keep you. Hope to see you again soon. Steve,” he finished with a nod.

Izabelle turned to Pepper with a shy smile; the only time she had met the female alpha was at the hospital when she had first been brought in. The omega stepped closer into Steve, who squeezed her hand slightly and kissed the top of her head.

“You’ve nothing to worry about, Izabelle,” Pepper assured. “I just wanted to see how you were faring, and when Steve mentioned your heat had passed, I thought it was a good time.” When the omega nodded, Pepper motioned them to follow her to an exam room.

Though Izabelle knew the routine, she found it easier than the previous times and was able to answer Pepper’s questions. As the doctor straightened and removed her gloves, the blonde smiled gently and said, “I’ll leave you to dress and see if your bloodwork is ready yet.”

Slipping back into her clothes, Izabelle let out a sigh and smiled as she felt Steve’s arms wrap around her waist from behind. “I’m okay,” she assured.

“I know you are. And I wanted to say that I’m proud of you,” Steve replied quietly.

Pepper returned and confirmed that everything looked good on her bloodwork. As Izabelle, Steve and Duke were leaving, she stopped as they passed an office, where Tony was kissing Bruce before Steve pulled her along. Izabelle frowned. “But I thought Tony and Pepper…?”

Steve grinned at her confused expression and nodded. “Tony and Pepper are mated and live together, yes,” he agreed. “But Tony and Bruce are also a couple.

They got into the SUV as Izabelle frowned and buckled herself in, trying to sort through in her mind. “Are Pepper and Bruce?”

“Just colleagues,” Steve replied while shaking his head. He shrugged and smiled. “It works for them, and they’re happy.”

Izabelle frowned slightly and tried to picture a life like that. Although, what she was doing now may not make sense to most; living with two men who were in a relationship, sharing her heats with them.  _ But for how long? _ The small voice in the back of her head was quickly buried and she shook her head slightly. “I guess I never knew anyone like that growing up,” she said aloud to Steve’s quizzical look. “So, it just never occurred to me that a dynamic like that could work.”

“As long as everyone is happy, and nobody's getting hurt, then why not?”

Nodding she smiled slightly and stayed silent until they reached the house. Bucky had just settled onto the couch and put on a television show. After releasing Duke from his vest, Izabelle joined him.

Bucky cuddled her against him and kissed her forehead. “Nat called earlier,” he said softly. “Everything is approved to contact your cousin for whenever you’re ready.” He felt her shiver and let out a long breath, and Bucky tightened his hold. “Only when you’re ready, Freckles.”

“In a few days; give me time to get used to the idea,” Izabelle replied softly.

The men shared a glance and Bucky nodded. “Of course,” he agreed.

*****

Four days later, Natasha sat off to the side while Steve sat next to Izabelle in the dining room, the laptop on the table, while they waited for the call to come in. Izabelle’s hands fidgeted in her lap until Steve reached over to lay his hands over top of them. “Breathe, sweetheart,” he said softly. “I’m right here.”

Izabelle blew out a long breath and nodded, feeling Duke leaning against her legs under the table, right as the video call began to ring. Glancing quickly at Steve, who nodded encouragingly, she reached up to tap the button to answer it. Izabelle stared at the screen as it flared to life; the man sitting on the other side had barely changed from the one she remembered. “Scott?”

He looked equally dumbfounded as he stared back and had to swallow before he could answer. “Little Izzy,” he breathed. “Well, not so little, I just… You look  _ just  _ like your mom.”

“I do? I don’t remember her or dad much anymore,” she admitted in embarrassment.

“No?” he seemed surprised then shook his head. “I guess a lot has happened. Your hair is definitely redder; hers was blonde. But your face… Man, it’s like looking at a picture. It’s just…” Scott cleared his throat and shook his head. “The people who got in touch with me said you’re in a safe house. You look like you’re doing okay.”

Though he had made it a statement, Izabelle answered it as a question. “I am, yeah. I’m staying with two alphas,” she replied, watching him frown. “They’re a couple, but they’re treating me well. And they have a huge therapy dog who is helping me too.”

Scott smiled and chuckled. “You always did have a thing with animals,” he said with a nod. “Anytime your folks came to visit when you were little, we’d find you piled up with the dogs, sound asleep.”

Izabelle smiled, having a sudden memory of what he said, and nodded. “I remember that,” she muttered. “I… I have to ask something.”

Scott nodded and leaned forward. “You can ask me anything, Izzy.”

“Why did you put up the webpage looking for me?” she asked softly. Steve squeezed the hand he still held, knowing this was something that had been bothering her.

A confused frown crossed Scott’s face and he shook his head. “You went missing, Izabelle,” he replied softly. “You disappeared off the face of the earth, right after that asshole of an alpha got out of prison. I knew it was because of him. And no one else might have wanted to help me, but in case you were in hiding, I wanted you to know I hadn’t forgotten about you.”

The gentle sincerity on his face and in his words made Izabelle tear up. Even after Brock had isolated her and cut her off from everyone, she still had a family member who cared; it was something that had never crossed her mind. She looked up at Steve, unable to speak, but he nodded in understanding, drawing her into a gentle hug. “It’s okay, Izzy,” he murmured softly. Knowing he was now in the frame, he nodded at her cousin, a small smile on his face. “Mr. Lang, I’m Steve Rogers.”

“Is she all right?” Scott asked in concern.

“A little overwhelmed,” Steve replied, stroking Izabelle’s hair gently. “She had been convinced she was isolated and alone. Finding out that wasn’t the case…” He watched Scott nod then glanced down at Izabelle as she drew away. “Do you need a break, sweetheart?” he murmured.

Izabelle flushed and glanced at the screen, nodding. “I’m sorry, I just…”

“No, it’s all right,” Scott said quickly, shaking his head. “Take your time, Izzy. I’m just so glad you reached out.”

“We’ll be in touch again, Mr. Lang,” Steve promised. When the other man nodded, he ended the connection and pulled Izabelle against him to hug, meeting Natasha’s eyes.

“You did really well, Izzy,” Natasha assured gently.

Izabelle frowned and ducked her head. “I wasn’t expecting it to hit me like that,” she said with a frown.

“There’s no way to predict that,” Steve replied. “But things went well, and you know you can talk to him again when you’re ready.”

She nodded in agreement, letting out a long sigh.

*****


	22. Chapter 22

Steve glanced out onto the covered porch a few weeks later and found Izabelle curled up with Duke across her lap, a cup of tea hugged to her chest as she stroked his head. She glanced back as the door creaked and smiled as he came out to join her, shifting her feet to make room for him. “You’re getting better at being out here,” he commented.

“The covered area is easier,” Izabelle agreed.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Steve started slowly. He waited until she was looking at him with a quizzical frown. “I know your birthday is coming up.”

Izabelle stiffened and shook her head. “How do you know that?”

“It was in your file when you first came to stay with us, Izzy,” he explained, taking her feet into his lap and beginning to massage one. “I was thinking of having a barbecue. Nat and Clint want to come, and I know Tony would be insulted if he wasn’t invited. Sam would probably have his feelings hurt too.” Steve watched her snort, a grin crossing her face. “But all of this is only if you’re comfortable. We can just have a quiet night in if that’s what you want.”

Izabelle thought the idea over and nodded slightly. “I’d be okay with something small,” she agreed. “And… Can I come help with shopping?”

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded. “Of course, you can,” he agreed. “Any time you feel like you want to, you’re welcome to come, Izzy.”

She smiled and nodded again, stroking Duke’s head and blowing on her tea as she thought. “Duke can come, right?”

“Yes, he can come. It’s why we have him fully registered as a therapy dog,” Steve assured. He studied and asked softly, “Did you want to invite Scott?”

Izabelle chewed her lip for a moment, then nodded slightly. They had been speaking for a few weeks through video chats and their conversations had become comfortable and easy. “Yeah, it’d be nice to see him in person,” she agreed. “And Wanda and Pietro.”

Grinning, he was glad to see her getting excited. “Of course. How about Saturday?”

“Won’t people have plans? I mean, it’s Wednesday evening already,” Izabelle said with a frown.

“For a party? I think you’ll find they’re all available,” Steve replied with a laugh.

“But just a barbecue, okay? Nothing fancy,” Izabelle insisted. “No presents.”

“Absolutely. In fact, I’ll message everyone now to let them know,” he agreed. “Say four o’clock, give everyone the chance to get here and relax, and then we can do food whenever we’re ready?” When she nodded, Steve started messaging everyone, and nodded when he was finished, grinning as he already started receiving responses. “Looks like people are eager for a party. What did you want to eat?”

“Barbecue, right? So, burgers, hot dogs, sausages,” Izabelle replied. “Salads, chips; just easy food.”

“Sounds good.” He watched Izabelle inhale the scent of her tea and frowned quizzically. “What one did you pick?”

“Apple cinnamon,” she replied. “It smells like cider.”

“Did you ever like tea that much before you came here, Izzy?” he asked curiously. Steve knew Bucky liked several types, herbal and not, and kept their cupboard stocked, and the men had watched Izabelle explore them all.

“A bit,” she admitted with a small smile. “But you two have a collection like I’ve never seen, and I’ve never got to try this many before.” Her face darkened slightly, and she stared down into her mug as she said, “All we used to keep in the house was coffee.”

Steve realized she meant when she lived with Brock, and he stared down at her feet as he rubbed them in his lap. “I’m sorry, Izabelle,” he said softly.

Shaking her head, she smiled slightly and looked up at him. “I don’t blame you, Steve,” she assured him. “I’m realizing a lot while I’m here.”

He smiled gently at her and reached out, squeezing her fingers when she took his hand. “I think I smell popcorn,” Steve said gently. “We’re half-way through the season of Breaking Bad.”

“Let’s keep going,” she agreed with a grin, pushing herself to her feet.

***** 

Friday morning, Izabelle finished her breakfast and looked at the men, licking her lips before she asked, “When are you going food shopping?”

They shared a look and Bucky shrugged. “Hadn’t really picked a time,” he replied.

“Still like to come along?” Steve asked gently. When she nodded slightly, he smiled. “Then whenever you’d like to go, we can go.”

Standing, Izabelle put away her dishes and nodded. “I just want to change,” she said softly.

Around the house, she didn’t mind if her scars were noticeable, and often wore tank tops and capris. But to go out in public, Izabelle knew she couldn’t stand the idea of them being so visible. She pulled on jeans and a three-quarter-length cotton shirt, knowing they would hide the majority of the marks left on her body, letting out a long sigh. Leaving her hair down hid her neck and left her as ready as she could be.

Izabelle found the men and Duke in the living room, the dog already in his vest, and she smiled slightly. “Let’s go.”

“The second you want to leave, we leave,” Steve said to her gently, running his hands down her arms as he caught her gaze. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. The trip to the store was quiet, just the radio filling the car, and once they had parked, Izabelle stepped out of the SUV and leaned back against the door, looking around the parking lot cautiously. Duke leaned into her side, a comforting weight, and she reached down with one hand to bury into his fur as Steve came to stand in front of her. She hummed softly as he cupped her cheek with one hand and stroked her face. “I’m okay,” Izabelle breathed.

“It’s okay if you’re not,” he replied softly, a small smile on his lips. “We don’t expect you to be.”

Stepping into his body, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose into Steve’s neck to inhale deeply. His scent washed over her and settled her nerves as he pressed a kiss to her head. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go stock up on food.” Bucky had grabbed a buggy while Steve settled her nerves, and while he pushed the cart, Steve held one of Izabelle’s hands.

Izabelle shivered as she walked, her hand tightening on Duke’s leash and Steve’s fingers as she felt like everyone was watching her, studying her. Part of her mind wondered if any of them knew Brock or Rollins. Would someone be reporting that they had seen her? Bucky was grabbing things and asking her what she liked, but the blood rushed through her ears as her breath came in short gasps and her vision darkened.

Teeth scraping over her neck made Izabelle blink, and she became aware of the fact she was surrounded by the men’s scents, her face buried in Steve’s neck. She tried to raise her head, but he murmured, “Give yourself a minute to settle, sweetheart,” and she nodded slightly, drawing in more of his scent. Her hands were balled into his shirt, and she could feel Duke at her side, licking her elbow. Bucky was pressed against her back, purring softly against her body.

“Okay,” she whispered, licking her lips. The men pulled away, but Steve cupped her face and studied her carefully, even as she flushed under his intense scrutiny. Izabelle glanced around and noticed they were in a small break room and frowned up at Steve.

“The manager noticed things not going well and offered us the space; we’ve been back here before with omegas,” he explained gently. “Most get a little overwhelmed when we first come out to shop.”

Nodding, she could feel her face burning still while she let out a deep breath, feeling some of the tension ease from her body. “Let’s try that again,” Izabelle said softly.

Bucky moved closer to kiss her forehead and nodded against her skin. “Sounds like a plan.”

She spent the rest of the trip with Steve’s arm hugged close to her chest, but was able to help pick out food, but drew to a sudden stop in the chips and snack aisle. Steve and Bucky turned to her, watched as she rubbed at her face and threaded her fingers into her hair, laughing humourlessly. “It’s stupid,” she muttered, voice thick.

“What is?” Bucky asked gently, wary of her sudden mood shift.

“Who actually thinks they would miss grocery shopping, of all things?” Izabelle asked, pacing away from them, glad the trio was alone for the moment. “I mean, it’s so  _ stupid _ . I knew, logically, all the things you’ve been doing for me, but to come out and join you…”

“Breathe, Freckles,” Bucky said softly.

Izabelle sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes and reaching down to stroke Duke’s head as the dog leaned into her. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting this… I mean, I was, I just…” She smelled Steve before he wrapped her in his arms and nuzzled the top of her head. “It’s  _ stupid _ ,” she repeated.

“It’s  _ not _ stupid,” he argued gently. “It’s readjusting. It’s your first time out of the house for something other than doctor’s appointments; even getting your haircut was just a short stint.”

“Hell, you’ve only just started sitting on the back deck in the last week, Izzy,” Bucky reminded her. “You’ve taken some really big steps in the last little while; it’s bound to catch up.”

Sighing heavily, she nodded against Steve’s chest and pulled back. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, clearing her throat. “So, chips, pretzels, dip?”

Bucky nodded and smiled softly at her, cupping her cheek for a moment then asked, “Nachos?”

“Yeah. And salsa,” she agreed.

With the cart loaded, they made their way to the front of the store, and once the men shared a look, Steve escorted Izabelle and Duke out to the vehicle while she frowned. “Won’t Bucky need a hand with the bags?”

“They have baggers inside to help him, and we can give him a hand once he’s out here,” Steve said with a smile. He let Duke into the back of the SUV, then leaned against the side and pulled her gently against him, one arm at her waist, the other coming up to cup her cheek. “How are you?  _ Really _ ?”

She sighed and dropped her gaze to stare at his chest. “Like you said, adjusting, right?” Izabelle replied, glancing up.

“Are you sure you’re all right with the party tomorrow?” he asked carefully.

“It’s at home, so I feel better about it,” she admitted. Then her mind paused.  _ When did I start thinking of their place as home? _ Izabelle wondered, her stomach clenching slightly. She had stiffened somewhat, but before Steve could ask, Bucky arrived, and they unloaded the groceries into the vehicle and headed home. Climbing into the car she yawned and shuddered, shaking her head. The emotional ups and downs had taken their toll, even if she had only been awake for a few hours.

“You can curl up and sleep when we get home,” Bucky assured from the back seat.

Izabelle nodded, yawning again, her jaw almost cracking. By the time they reached the house, she could barely keep her eyes open. She tried to help with the bags, but the men sent her inside. Izabelle curled into a ball on the bed, Duke at her back, and she covered them both with the blanket from the bottom of the bed. It took no time at all for sleep to drag her under.


	23. Chapter 23

Saturday afternoon, Natasha and Clint arrived early to help, with Sam not to far behind. None of them would allow Izabelle to do anything, despite her protesting, so she found herself sitting out back on the covered deck with Duke, Natasha coming to join her, and eventually Clint as well.

“They kicked me out,” Clint pouted.

“Got sick of your smart-assed ideas?” Natasha asked playfully.

“How’d you know?”

Izabelle grinned at their banter as the pair sat across from her. The others started to arrive, and many drifted out into the backyard, leaving her with Bucky and Duke while Steve prepared the food. Bucky cuddled with her, playing with her hair absently until his phone rang. After a short conversation, he turned to her with a grin.

“I have to leave for just a bit,” he said.

“Is everything all right?” Izabelle asked with concern.

“Wanda’s car won’t start, and she refuses to take Pietro’s bike here for the party,” Bucky explained with a chuckle. “They’re only fifteen minutes from here, so I’ll be back in about half an hour.”

Izabelle nodded and grinned. “Go. I’ll be here.”

Bucky kissed her temple and moved inside to grab his keys and let Steve know where he was going. Izabelle watched him leave and turned to watch the others in the backyard. Sam came to join her, bringing a bottle of water and she smiled. “I’m glad you could come,” she said softly.

“Was happy to be invited,” he replied with a broad smile. “You’re looking well, Izzy.”

She flushed and ducked her head with a smile. “Yeah, it’s… It’s been going well here,” Izabelle admitted.

Izabelle watched Bruce and Tony argue over something about the boxes they had carried out to the back near the firepit, frowning curiously. She heard Steve on the phone as he walked out onto the deck, his tone unhappy, and turned with a frown.

“Sir, this  _ really _ isn’t a good time… All right, give me five, I’ll call you back.”

She watched him hang up and shook her head. “What’s wrong?”

“I know Bucky just left to get the twins, but it’s my boss,” Steve explained. “There’s something with a job that isn’t working out, and he wants me on video to go over it. It’ll take me at least half an hour, but Buck will be gone nearly that long…”

Natasha and Clint, having noticed Steve’s agitation, had come to join Steve, Izabelle, and Sam in the covered part of the deck. Izabelle glanced at everyone and shook her head. “Steve, it’s your job; you have to go,” she said gently.

“It leaves you without either me or Bucky, Izzy,” he reiterated. “I know you know everyone here, but that’s not fair to you. I’m trying to put him off until Bucky gets back.”

“But he obviously needs your input now,” she replied patiently.

Clint, who had sat on one of the couches, reached up and gently grabbed Izabelle’s wrist, yanking her down suddenly to sit across his lap. She yipped in surprise, then burst out laughing, shaking her head at the beta. “I got your girl, Steve,” Clint assured. “Nat and I can make sure she’s good. Go and work.”

Steve forced himself to let out a deep breath and nodded after studying Izabelle for a moment. “I’ll try not to be too long,” he promised.

*****

Steve emerged from his office as Bucky walked through the front door with the twins, Scott following sheepishly.

“Sorry, I’m late…”

“Not at all, Mr. Lang,” Steve instantly said with a smile. “Everyone is out back.”

“Please, call me Scott,” he replied, following the way the twins had gone.

Bucky’s eyes widened when he realized neither of them was with Izabelle. They made their way quickly to the back door to see Izabelle standing to greet Wanda with a smile and hugging each of the twins and turned to her cousin with a shy smile. She hugged him tentatively, then moved back against Natasha instinctively, who laid a hand on her waist in comfort.

“What happened?” Bucky asked.

“Fury needed me,” Steve replied with a heavy sigh as they moved outside. “Clint and Nat stayed with her.” His chest eased at the smile she gave the men, saw a tension leave her shoulders as her hands reached out to touch each of them and ground herself.

As the trio wandered off, Nat moved closer to Clint and eyed him with a knowing grin. “Hun, I love you, but challenging an alpha by grabbing his omega? If Izabelle had panicked, he would have gone crazy. I know it’s Steve, but if he decided to go after you, not even I could stop him.”

Clint chuckled and kissed her cheek. “I knew she’d laugh, which would make him relax,” he assured. “We both know they see Izabelle as theirs, no matter how hard they’re trying not to, and they won’t admit it to themselves. And given how she responds to them, Izzy views both of them as her alphas.”

“But we need to let them come to that conclusion on their own,” Natasha reminded. “And, in the meantime, try not to give either of the men a reason to kill you, please? I kinda love you.”

Smiling, he tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “I love you too,” he assured. “But I also wanted to make sure that Izzy trusts us too, and show that to Steve. Besides, I’m not a threat, and both the guys know that.”

“When they’re paying attention, yeah, they know that,” Natasha agreed. “But you and I both know that when it comes to this stuff, it’s instinctual.”

The night wore on, and Izabelle led the group out to the fire pit after dinner, where Clint and Tony had already gotten a blaze roaring. Steve was surprised; though she had managed to wander past the deck, this was the farthest into the backyard she had gone. Steve shared a surprised look with Bucky and smiled when Izabelle sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair.

“Okay, presents!” Wanda exclaimed.

Izabelle’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “I said no presents!”

“It’s your birthday,” Pietro argued with a grin. “You get presents.”

She scowled at the group, who all smiled broadly back. As some went to get bags and wrapped boxes, Izabelle narrowed her eyes at Steve as Bucky moved into the house and came back with a package himself; a large box that had her growling.

Wanda and Pietro handed over their bag first, a pair of leather boots that had Izabelle’s eyes widening. “These are gorgeous, but…”

“No buts,” Wanda interrupted. “I’ve seen how you’ve been staring at mine.”

Izabelle flushed and ducked her head. “Thank you.”

“Ours, you will see later,” Tony announced, indicating the boxes over his shoulder.

She nodded and stared at them in curiosity but turned to Sam who handed over a large bag. When she opened it, she was already shaking her head. “Sam, no…” It was a leather jacket to match the boots the twins had given her.

“Hush, girl,” he said with an easy smile. “Had to have a matching set. Besides, it’s starting to cool off, and you needed a kick-ass jacket for this weather.”

Izabelle flushed and quietly said thanks as Scott handed over a box. She stared at it curiously, and when she opened it, it was to find an e-reader. “Scott…”

“You used to read everything you could get your hands on when you were younger,” Scott said softly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “I asked, and the guys said you started reading again, and I thought… I thought this might make it easier to have more with you at any given time.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, touched that he remembered. She carefully packed it back in the box, glad for Steve’s hand rubbing soothingly across her back. Izabelle took the bag that Natasha handed over, and laughed when she saw what was inside; a basket of bath salts, bubble bath, and bath bombs, along with body lotions. “Thanks, guys.”

“I figured you must be running their supply low at this rate,” Natasha replied with a chuckle.

“Probably am,” Izabelle agreed.

Bucky reached back finally and pulled forward a huge box, which made her frown at the men. “What did you two do?” Izabelle asked, growling.

“Just open it,” Steve replied with a laugh.

Inside, Izabelle found an acoustic guitar, and her throat closed as she glanced between the alphas as she pulled it out reverently. “How…?”

“When you listen to music, your fingers play,” Bucky explained softly, reaching over to stroke her cheek. “You don’t even know you’re doing it. And it’s even more prominent with guitar and piano. So, we asked Scott which one you preferred.”

Her fingers ran over the dark polished wood and she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have,” she whispered.

“Does it make you happy?” Steve asked softly, his fingers stroking her neck. When she nodded silently from where she sat in his lap, he smiled. “Then yes, we did.”

Wanda, who had slipped up to the house, came back with a hard leather case, and Izabelle narrowed her eyes at the other omega, who kissed Izabelle’s cheek before returning to her own chair. Izabelle gently set the guitar inside and snapped it closed before Steve pulled her back against his chest.

A bag of marshmallows appeared, making Izabelle laugh as Steve stroked his hand through her hair. She sighed in contentment, listening to the group talk; Scott and Sam were talking cars, Pietro joined in. She had come to learn that Scott owned his own garage, and she was glad to see he fit in with the group. Even Tony leaned over to talk about the electronics with the men, and she shook her head, completely lost.

Once the sun had completely disappeared, Tony and Bruce moved towards the boxes, urging everyone to stay in their seats. Izabelle turned to Steve with a frown. “What are they doing?”

“You’ll see,” he assured.

The first whistle and explosion of a firework made her tense in his arms, the unexpected sounds startling her. Steve tightened his hold and murmured gently in her ear, frowning as he cursed to himself with a glance at Bucky; each alpha wondered if they should have warned Izabelle. But she looked in awe at the sky. “Okay, sweetheart?” he murmured in her ear.

Izabelle swallowed and nodded, her hands gripping his arm that held her around her waist. “Yeah, it’s okay,” she confirmed. She was enraptured, though the larger explosions still startled her, her nails digging into his forearm.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered against the back of her neck, feeling her shudder against him.

She fought to keep her eyes on the sky, and once the show was over, shook her head and looked at the trio. “That was…amazing,” Izabelle said softly.

“Glad you liked it, Kid,” Tony replied with a wide grin, flopping back into his chair. “It’s been a fun night.”

“It really has,” she agreed, covering her mouth to hide a yawn.

“And I think it’s time we let you get some rest,” Wanda said with a small smile.

“No, please,” Izabelle replied, shaking her head even as she yawned again. “Everyone’s having a good time.”

“And you’re half asleep,” Natasha replied with a chuckle. “We can do this again, Izzy.”

She grumbled, even as she curled into Steve’s chest. He grinned at everyone and lifted her easily into his arms as Bucky waved him towards the house. Steve made it to the bedroom before she blinked her eyes open with a frown. “It’s time for you to get some sleep, sweetheart,” he said gently.

“But everyone…”

“Understands,” he finished for her. “And Bucky is seeing them out.”

Izabelle fumbled to try and take off her jeans, but Steve had to help her, grinning as she pulled off her t-shirt and crawled onto the bed, Duke already across the foot of the bed. He stripped down to his boxers and curled up behind her, kissing Izabelle’s shoulder as a soft snore told him she was already fast asleep.

Bucky joined them an hour later, and Steve knew he had likely been cleaning up. The men shared a smile over her sleeping form, while Bucky curled up behind Steve and propped his head up to kiss the blond’s cheek. “It went well,” he murmured.

“Better than I’d hoped,” Steve agreed softly. “But we’ll have to wait and see if the fireworks bring up anything.”

Settling in to wrap his arms around the pair, Bucky kissed the back of Steve’s neck and nodded. “Time will tell.”

*****


	24. Chapter 24

Izabelle woke to rumbles of thunder that froze her breath in her throat. The forecast had been calling for rain the night after the party, but she hadn’t paid attention to whether storms were due to hit the area; Izabelle had been so exhausted when she went to bed, she forgot to check. She slipped quietly from the bed while swallowing hard, making certain she didn’t wake the men. She pulled on pyjama pants and a sweater to wander into the kitchen, peering up at the sky curiously as lightning lit up the room. Izabelle froze as the room was cast back into darkness, and she realized it was barely dawn as the crack of thunder crashed over the house. She felt trapped like the walls were closing in, and the weight on her chest grew.

Steve wandered into the kitchen, having followed Izabelle curiously, as she ran outside with a whimper. He dashed after her, heedless of the rain drenching them both, her breathing so heavy she hunched over; she had stopped as soon as her feet hit the grass. “Izzy?” he asked cautiously. More thunder sounded in the distance, and she turned to him with wide, glassy eyes, shivering. Steve didn’t know if it was from the rain or her memories, but he kept his hands wide and approached her slowly. “Sweetheart, it’s me.”

Swallowing hard, Izabelle looked around the yard as if just realizing where she was, then raised her face to the rain with her eyes closed. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, voice nearly lost in the sounds of the storm. “He’d blindfold me sometimes… Especially if he knew a storm was coming; hours beforehand. Then he’d come for me. I couldn’t see, and with the storm, I couldn’t hear…” Izabelle ran her hands through her hair, holding it back from her face. “I felt like the walls were closing in, and I was trapped back there.”

“And the fireworks started it off,” Steve said softly, slowly approaching her. “If I’d known, I would’ve told Tony not to do them…”

“It’s not your fault, Steve,” she replied, shaking her head. “I didn’t even know it would. I’m not really sure it did. Just the storm right after…”

He watched her take her hands from her hair and start rubbing her wrists, still looking around wildly, as he reached her side. Touching her face, Steve noted her skin was icy and shook his head. “Sweetheart, you’re freezing,” he observed softly. Pulling her in, he was relieved she let him and hugged her tightly. “Let’s get you warmed up in the bath, okay?” More thunder rumbled, further in the distance, and she cowered against his chest, whining softly. Steve lifted her and carried her back into the house, past where he had left Duke at the door, the dog frustratedly pacing, and following them back to the master suite.

Bucky, who had watched without interfering, already had the bath running and stepped back to let Steve settle her on her feet. The blond helped Izabelle peel out of her soaked clothes, but when Steve started to step back, she dug in her fingers and stared a question at him. Nodding, Steve helped her into the tub before he stripped out of his own clothes and stepped in. Izabelle turned to the door and opened her hand, beckoning the other alpha. Bucky silently looked a question at Steve, who shrugged before joining as well. Duke lay across the bathroom’s doorway, guarding the room.

Izabelle curled across Steve’s lap, unconcerned about their nudity, laying her feet across Bucky’s thighs once he had settled in the water. During her earlier baths, she always knew their tub was big. With all three of them in it now, she noticed absently that the jacuzzi tub could easily handle at least two more people. Any other time she would have teased the men any other time for that fact. Now, she shivered and buried her face into Steve’s neck, her wrists drawn up to her chest as she rubbed at them.

Steve noticed that she kept fixating on them, and took her hands into his own. He placed a gentle kiss on her wrists, offering one to Bucky, keeping the other, massaging the skin there gently. “Talk to us, sweetheart,” he whispered against her head.

“You never asked how I got out,” Izabelle replied timidly.

Bucky met Steve’s eyes in surprise and shook his head, not expecting this conversation. “Freckles, we’ve never pushed for anything. Anything you want us to know, you can tell us and we’ll always listen. But you never  _ have _ to tell us anything. You know that, right?”

She stayed silent so long, the men thought she wouldn’t speak, before a long sigh shuddered from her. “I know you remember the bruises on my arms,” Izabelle started, staring down at her hands, gazing back and forth between where each man held her. When they nodded, she swallowed. “My arms were tied in front of me. He fed me, once a day; just a pile of food. I could feed myself that way, and my hands were out of the way when he’d…”

Steve stroked her back when her voice dropped off, pressing his lips to her forehead. “It’s okay.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “The knots were complicated; I couldn’t get my teeth to the cords to bite at them, and just feeding myself was difficult. But… But you leave food in a shed for long enough, other things come looking,” Izabelle explained with a wavering voice. “I smeared food on the ropes, and just kept doing it, even once the mice started biting me. Brock never noticed… I just wanted out.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Steve breathed, sharing a horrified look with Bucky. She shuddered and pulled her arms back up to rest on Steve’s chest, and he hugged her tightly, feeling how cold her skin still was.

“Once the ropes were frayed enough, I managed to get them off, and I ran,” she continued. “Whatever house I got to, they called the police, who called the military once I explained enough, said Brock’s name and former rank. They called Fury.”

“Yeah, he would be the next call,” Bucky confirmed, stroking her calves soothingly. “But I can’t imagine how painful that was. Or how terrifying.”

Izabelle shuddered hard and felt the men shift and tighten their holds as she nodded slightly. “Some of the bruises on my thighs were needle marks,” she confessed. “I could barely tell Pepper what had happened, but she recognized the marks on my wrists as bites and guessed enough.”

It took everything in Steve to keep his fury contained, and he buried his face into her hair, letting out a long breath instead. Every instinct in him wanted to seek out Rumlow and make the man pay, but the woman in his arms wasn’t his, and he looked to Bucky to help remind himself of that fact. He felt Izabelle sink into the heat and comfort the men offered, her body slowly relaxing by degrees, until she was soft in their arms making him grin. “There you go,” he murmured.

After some time, Izabelle slowly became aware that she had made the men strip down, and the trio was fully nude as she lay there, making her blush, closing her eyes in embarrassment. Her mind had been on autopilot, simply wanting to get into the bath and be comforted. She happened to look up and see the men share a deep look and frowned to herself, envious of the relationship they shared. Swallowing, she straightened and cleared her throat. “I think I need to get some more sleep,” she muttered softly. “I’m sorry I woke you both.”

The men noticed her mood shift and wondered at it but let her go to get out of the water. They pulled the stopper and climbed from the bath, toweling dry as she rushed to dry and pull on pyjamas. Steve watched her braid her wet hair and climb into bed, sharing a confused frown with Bucky before he got into bed, pulling her onto his chest.

Izabelle let him pull her in, took the comfort and let it soothe her mood, and felt Duke along her back as he always was. A small smile crossed her face as sleep dragged her back under.

*****


	25. Chapter 25

The week after the party, Steve had informed Natasha of what had happened with the storm, but Izabelle didn’t bring it up to the therapist at all, so the alpha left it alone. She knew the omega would discuss it if she needed to. Izabelle would not travel out to the firepit alone, but if the men were with her, they often spent the evenings there. Izabelle played with her guitar often, trying to get her fingers back into shape after years of not playing. She even took to joining the men down in the gym and watching them work out and spar. She found it fascinating; the way they parried and evaded each other, even when Bucky one time managed to get Steve into a headlock, the blond spared a wink to Izabelle before tossing his head back. After gently headbutting Bucky, Steve escaped by dropping to the floor, the trio laughing at the antics. She realized she was doing that a lot; laughing.

Izabelle had been at the house for months and realized she was comfortable; in her surroundings and with the men. She was on her way back from the bathroom in the middle of the night and paused to stare down at the alphas. Bucky was spooned up against Steve’s back and the men looked peaceful together, Duke stretched out across the foot of the bed. The sight brought a small smile to her face, and then her mind started to wander. Izabelle realized that this was normal for the men before she had arrived and would be again once she left. The icy feeling that she had been trying to keep at bay came rushing through her at the thought of leaving. Though she was speaking with Scott and knew he would welcome her there, she had come to think of this place as her home. Not only that, but she had started to think of the men as her own, even when she knew neither was true. A slow ache started in the middle of her chest.

Backing out of the men’s room silently, Izabelle walked to her own bedroom, where she had never actually slept, and closed the door without latching it. She stared around and remembered her first night here when the alphas had helped her clean up and fought to keep her breathing under control. Having lived here for months, it had never occurred to her what would happen when it came time for Izabelle to leave. If she were truly honest with herself, she simply didn’t want to go. But that wasn’t fair to the alphas, and she knew that; they had lives. They had signed up to help her get hers back on track, then move on without Izabelle. That thought made her chest squeeze tight as she climbed onto the bed and pull the covers up to her chest, hugging the pillow tight; it wasn’t nearly the same as Steve or Bucky’s warm, firm chests. She realized she needed to start putting distance between herself and the men, or it was going to be too difficult when it came time to leave.

*****

Steve woke slowly just as the sun was rising and realized Izabelle wasn’t in bed. He reached his hand out, felt the cold mattress and frowned, used to her cuddled against his chest and wondered how long she had been gone. Concerned, he got out of the bed and checked the bathroom, noted Duke was gone, then noticed that the bedroom door was mostly closed across the hall. Glancing inside, Steve noticed Izabelle curled into a ball, hugging a pillow to her chest, Duke curled along her back. He frowned and walked in to pull blankets over her when he noticed her shivering and wondered why she was sleeping alone, but left her to rest, padding silently back to his own room.

Bucky was only slightly awake and gave him a quizzical look when he came back in. “Everything okay?” he mumbled.

“Izabelle’s in her own room,” Steve replied with a frown.

The dark-haired alpha blinked fully awake at that statement and stared at the door. “Oh,” he replied, pushing himself to sit up as Steve re-joined him. “Does she look all right?”

“She was cold and shivering, so I pulled up the blankets, but she’s asleep. I don’t see anything wrong,” Steve replied, running a hand over his beard. “I didn’t hear anything last night, did you?”

“Not a thing,” Bucky replied. “We’ll just have to wait until she wakes up.”

Izabelle ventured to the kitchen before the men got up for the day and gathered fruits, vegetables, protein shakes, and stocked the small fridge next to her bed, then hid in her room for the day. The alphas continually checked on her, and she told them she just wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to risk getting them sick.

On the third day, Steve came to see if she wanted any dinner. When she declined again, he sat on the edge of the bed, shaking his head. “I think I need to call Bruce,” he said firmly.

“No, it’s nothing serious, I promise,” she muttered. “Just under the weather.”

Steve checked her for a fever and frowned heavily; he didn’t like that Izabelle wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You promise you’d tell me if something was wrong, sweetheart?” he asked softly. She nodded, but his gut told him otherwise. “All right, I’ll let you sleep. Call for us or send Duke if you need anything, all right?” He waited until she gave a small nod, then stood with a sigh and left, leaving the door open slightly on his way out.

When he reached the kitchen, Steve met Bucky’s eyes with a dark stare and pulled out his phone, calling Natasha. “Something’s changed,” he said seriously.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. She’s withdrawn; three days of hiding in her bedroom and claiming she’s got some sort of cold or something,” he explained. “There’s no fever, Nat. Izzy won’t meet my eyes, no physical contact. Duke’s cuddling her back but she will barely touch him. I don’t know what’s shifted, but it’s not good.”

A sigh came through the line. “Yeah, I don’t like the sound of it either. I’m on my way.”

“Thanks, Nat.”

Izabelle got up to close the door to the bedroom firmly after Steve left, then crawled back into bed and pulled out her phone. Dialling, she waited until the video flared to life to see Wanda on the other side. “Hey,” she whispered.

Wanda frowned at the other omega’s expression. “What’s wrong, Izzy?”

“I just… I don’t belong here. What do I do?”

“Take a few deep breaths,” Wanda counselled, seeing the other woman near tears. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Izabelle could feel her breathing growing ragged as tears gathered in her eyes, panic quickly overtaking her. “I can’t stay here anymore. I have to leave. He was right, I don’t belong anywhere…”

Wanda glanced off to the side and spoke rapidly in another language before she turned back to the screen. “Izzy, take a deep breath for me,” Wanda counselled calmly, countering the panicky tone in the other omega’s voice. When Izabelle whimpered, Wanda frowned. “Why do you have to leave?”

“I don’t belong,” Izabelle whispered. Her hand loosened on the phone, but it was laying on the pillows as her eyes went out of focus. Duke lay across her body, but she did not even feel him as her hands grew numb and the sound of blood rushed through her ears.

Out in the main room, Steve’s phone rang, and he frowned at the number. “Pietro, how are you?”

“Something’s wrong with Izabelle,” the younger man responded urgently. “She called Wanda, but right now, all we can hear is her hyperventilating. Wherever she is, get to her  _ now _ .”

Hanging up, he and Bucky rushed into the bedroom and Steve drew back the covers. He frowned when she flinched away from his hands, saying, “Sweetheart, it’s Steve.”

Bucky picked up Izabelle’s phone from the pillow, looking at Wanda and asking, “Talk to me. What was she saying?”

“Izabelle was saying she had to leave, that she didn’t belong,” Wanda explained with a deep frown. “That  _ he _ was right. Did she mean her ex?”

Sharing a dark glance with Steve, Bucky shook his head. “I guess so, but I’m not sure.”

Steve reached to try and gather Izabelle into his arms, but she scrambled off the bed and curled into the corner, knees drawn up to her chest and arms braced over her head. Steve kept his distance, but knelt nearby, urgently insisting, “Izabelle, what is it?”

The doorbell rang, and Bucky went to answer it while she remained silent. Natasha and Clint entered the bedroom to see neither had moved, but Steve stood and joined them, shaking his head. “She won’t let me near her,” he said softly. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

When Natasha approached cautiously, Izabelle whimpered and drew into a smaller ball, even pulling away from Duke, who lay on the ground, his head on his paws, whining. The woman came back to the men and sighed. “We may need to call Bruce,” she admitted.

“Let me try,” Clint offered. The others frowned at him, and he stared at the trio with an astonished expression that none of them had thought of it. “You’re all alphas, guys. She might not be as reactive to me.”

Steve and Bucky looked to Natasha helplessly for input, who thought it over, then nodded. “It’s worth a shot. Just take it slow, hun; we don’t know what’s set her off.”

Nodding, Clint sat against the wall near Izabelle, then slowly shuffled until he was almost right next to her. “Izzy?” he asked softly, reaching out to stroke her hair.

“I shouldn’t be here,” she whispered, leaning into his shoulder and sobbing softly.

Clint glanced up to see the others relieved she allowed him in. He hugged her against him, allowing her to burrow in as far as she wanted, before he asked, “What do you mean, Izzy?”

“This isn’t my home… I don’t even have a home,” she whispered. She clenched her eyes closed and shook her head. “I’m nothing but an obligation. But I have nowhere to go… Brock said I didn’t belong anywhere; he was right…”

“No, Izzy, he wasn’t right,” Clint said firmly, reaching down to cup her cheek. “You have friends who care.”

“Only because you have to,” she argued, stiffening in his arms.

Clint held her firmly when she tried to draw away and brought her gaze up to meet his. “Hey. You remember how I reacted when I first saw your scars?” he said, reminding her of the anger that poured off of him. When she nodded, he smiled. “I don’t hold my reactions, and I don’t bullshit. We’re friends because I  _ want _ to be, and I hope because you want to be. You’ve come a long way, Izzy. Don’t let everything he planted in your head worm its way back to doubt what you have now.”

“And what do I really have?” she countered.

“Izabelle, you have us,” Bucky said softly.

“No, I don’t,” she replied, shaking her head at the alpha men.


	26. Chapter 26

“No, I don’t,” she replied, shaking her head at the alpha men. “You have each other, and your own lives. I’m just passing through until you decide that you’re done with me and move on like you have before. I’m a project.”

“Izabelle,” Steve made her name a whisper, dropping to his knees in front of her but resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. “It’s taken everything in me not to put my mark on you while you’ve been here,” he confessed, his voice soft but dark. “You’re supposed to be under our care, in which case our job is to help you get on your feet and move on, yes. But even now, knowing that Clint isn’t a threat and seeing you in his arms? Part of me wants to pull you into mine and scent-mark you. It’s basic and animalistic; given everything that’s happened to you, it’s completely inappropriate. But that doesn’t stop the deepest part of my gut from wanting to do it.”

She shook her head and ducked her head. “You’re not… It’s not true,” she muttered.

“Izzy, anytime we’ve had omegas here in the past, we’ve been completely celibate,” Bucky cut in. “Since you’ve been here, any time you’ve been with Natasha, we’ve been together working off…frustration. Because each of us wants you in ways we weren’t expecting.”

“Haven’t you noticed that we keep you carefully away from our groins when we cuddle?” Steve asked with a grin.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, swallowing. Izabelle looked up at Clint who chuckled. “What?”

“Izzy, at your party when I pulled you down into my lap, you missed it because you were laughing. But if looks could kill, Steve’s would’ve had me dead,” he told her gently, still stroking her hair. “If anyone else had tried it, he might’ve gotten violent.”

She opened her mouth and turned back to the men in front of her, then to Natasha with a frown, the female alpha smiled gently. “Izzy, I know you’re attracted to them,” Natasha said gently, watching the other woman flush. “And I know you already see the men as your alphas; it’s plain to see in how you interact with them. The dynamic is evident to everyone that they also see you as theirs, they just wouldn’t admit it,” she continued, giving the men a hard look.

“We didn’t want you to feel like you didn’t have any choices, Izabelle,” Steve said softly. “We knew how your life with Brock started, and we were afraid that if we crossed that line, you would feel trapped.”

“I’ve been trapped in  _ every _ way possible before,” Izabelle replied quietly. “I’ve never felt that here.” Steve reached his hand out from where he knelt and waited. She studied his face, open and full of patience. Letting out an unsteady sigh, she reached out tentatively and slid her fingers into his, letting him pull her forward to sit across his thighs. Ducking her head, she glanced between Clint and Natasha. “I’m sorry for dragging you over here.”

“Never apologize for needing help, Izabelle,” Natasha replied with a gentle smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” Nodding at the men, she said, “We’ll let ourselves out.”

Steve wrapped his arms under Izabelle and carried her through to the master bedroom and onto the bed, making a sound of surprise when she shifted to straddle his thighs and looked around for Bucky. The dark-haired alpha settled in behind her, stroking a hand down her arm with a hum, murmuring, “I’m right here.”

“I don’t want to come between what you have,” Izabelle said with concern.

“Izabelle you’re ours. You fit perfectly with us,” Bucky replied. “You don’t interrupt the flow between us, more like you compliment it in ways we couldn’t imagine. The fact that not just one of us, but both of us are attracted to you? That we’ve have been struggling not to let it show until now, says a lot.”

“Am I?” she asked softly, bringing one hand to run down Steve’s cheek as she looked between the men.

“Are you what, sweetheart?” Steve countered, stroking one hand over her cheek, the other up her thigh. He watched her lean into Bucky’s hand on her arm and smiled gently.

Izabelle blushed and ducked her head slightly as she asked, “Am I really yours?”

Steve growled deep in his chest and felt her shiver against him, watched as her eyes widened and she swallowed but didn’t draw away from him. “Answer something for me first, Izabelle,” he replied, voice drawn low. When she nodded, he asked, “Are you choosing us?”

Bucky watched her frown, her eyes brows draw together in confusion, and he ran his hand across her shoulders, gently hugging her against her chest. “The choice has always been yours, Izabelle. We want you, of course,” he explained. “But we won’t ever mark you if that isn’t what  _ you _ want.”

“I want you to,” she replied, voice soft but firm. She nodded as she looked between the men. “I want your marks on me. Please. I’m tired of feeling like I don’t belong anywhere…”

Her voice caught and her eyes began to tear, but Steve shushed her, hands coming up to cup her cheeks. He heard Duke whine from next to the bed, and his voice was firm as he said, “No, stay.” The dog huffed but lay on the floor next to the bed with a thump.

Izabelle felt the bed move, but Steve’s hands kept her gaze anchored on his own, and she felt Bucky’s heat before he molded himself against her back. Tremors ran through her, but the dark-haired alpha ran his hands down her arms, soothing her as he laid his cheek against the side of her head.

“Nice and easy, Izabelle,” Steve said gently, sitting up slowly until she was pressed between their chests. He kissed her gently, felt her melt into him and smiled at the soft whimper that crawled from her chest before it drew low. Pulling back, Steve watched her eyes close as she gasped softly, her head falling back onto Bucky’s shoulder as his fingers delved into her pyjama bottoms to stroke her.

Pulling her hair to fall over his own shoulder, Bucky grinned and nibbled on her ear. “So beautiful,” he breathed, feeling her press down against his hand. “You want to come for us?”

“Please,” Izabelle breathed.

One of her hands tried to reach down and cover his, but Steve captured both her wrists in one of his hands, leaning forward to steal her whine of disappointment with a kiss. His lips traced down her cheek until he could finally nuzzle her neck, properly scenting her for the first time. A possessive growl came from his chest as he heard her breathing change and knew Izabelle was close.

Sliding one hand to the back of her head, Steve gripped her hair just as she reached her orgasm. The men each bit down then, mixing pain and pleasure as they broke the skin, while Bucky continued to stroke her. The men drew away from her neck, lapping at the wounds and the blood they had drawn, as Izabelle pulled at her wrists and wriggled in their arms. Steve released her as Bucky drew his hand back, letting her slump forward onto Steve’s chest and rearranging her legs across his lap as he leaned back.

Bucky moved to sit next to where Steve leaned against the headboard, Izabelle curled against his chest, shivering. He pulled up a blanket and stroked her head while the brunette soothed her back, each waiting for her to gather herself.

“I’m still a mess,” she whispered, worry creeping into her voice.

“We want you, scars, baggage, and all,” Steve assured. “It’s a slow process, that still hasn’t changed, sweetheart. There’s no rushing it.”

“We’ll take things at your pace,” Bucky agreed.

When she nodded and let out a relieved sigh, Steve kissed her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin. “You have to be hungry,” he said softly. “I know you were sneaking out at night but were you eating anything substantial?” Izabelle flushed and shook her head. “I’ll go make something, okay?”

Bucky lifted her to cuddle against his lap as he nodded at Steve. “We’ll meet you out there,” he assured.

“Nah, I’ll bring it back,” he replied, leaning back to kiss Bucky, then bent further and pressed his lips softly to Izabelle’s. When she sighed into him, he grinned and stroked her cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

Drawing her into his chest, Bucky was surprised when she buried her nose into his neck and scented him; the first time she had done that with him. He growled deep in his chest, stroking her hair and burying his face into her neck to nuzzle his bite on her neck. Izabelle shuddered against him, her hands coming up to grip his hair as a whimper crawled from her throat. “I’ve got you,” he promised.

Steve returned a few minutes later, smiling to see the pair cuddled and stroking one another, and climbed onto the bed. He held a tray with sandwiches, fruit slices, and cookies, bottles of water tucked into his pockets. It was growing late but could see Izabelle’s mind whirling, and after she finished her sandwich to start picking at the fruit, Steve caught her eye and smiled gently. “What is it, Izzy?”

“We’ve only been together during my heat,” she whispered. “I want your skin against mine, but…”

“Izabelle, we already told you; your pace,” Bucky assured, kissing her temple when Izabelle’s voice died off. “Neither of us is expecting anything. You’re ready when  _ you  _ decide, not when we want.”

Tension flowed out of her that she hadn’t even realized she was holding, unexpected tears springing to her eyes. Steve noticed and set the food aside, moving up to her side, cupping her face in his hands. “Deep breaths, Izabelle,” he assured.

She moved from Bucky’s lap to wrap her arms and legs around Steve, hugging him tightly, even as he stroked her hair. Izabelle felt as if she were in a dream, after so long in a nightmare, and was constantly surprised by the care the men showed her.

“I think you need some rest, Freckles,” Bucky said softly, reaching out to stroke her back. “Did you manage to sleep at all the last few days?” When she shrugged slightly but said nothing, he chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”

“I just want to go clean up,” Izabelle muttered, slowly pulling away from their arms.

In the bathroom, Duke followed to lay directly across her feet and made her laugh while she brushed her teeth, then stared at the bite marks in the mirror for a long time, shivering happily. But after having spent the last few days in bed, Izabelle pulled her hair up and quickly showered off her body, her fingers lingering over the marks the men had left on her. She dried herself and, wrapped in a towel, stepped back into the bedroom. “Can we… I just want to sleep with your skin against mine?”

“Of course,” Steve agreed. In tandem, the men stood and stripped out of their clothes, leaving Izabelle leaning on the doorway with wide eyes. Steve grinned and reached out a hand to her, waited patiently, while Bucky crawled under the sheets and patted the bottom of the bed for Duke to curl up. Izabelle allowed herself to be drawn into the blond’s arms, letting out a sigh when he dropped her towel and led her onto the bed between the alphas.

She curled onto Steve’s chest, drew Bucky flush against her back and let out a sigh of contentment. “Thank you,” she whispered as exhaustion flowed through her.

Sharing a confused frown, Steve stroked the arm she hugged across his chest and asked, “For what, sweetheart?”

“For being you,” she muttered, tiredly. “And letting me be me.”

Bucky kissed the back of her head, nuzzling her and stroking down her hip. “Always,” he promised.

*****


	27. Chapter 27

Izabelle noticed things changed subtly and slowly with them. The kisses that used to be on her head, they now pressed against her lips, and she melted against them. The men never pressured her, but Izabelle found she sought them out, now knowing they truly were hers and would not turn her away. Duke was less on alert around her; he followed her room-to-room, but Izabelle found he became more like a regular dog as she needed less reassurance. The animal even started re-joining the men when they would go out on occasion, not always staying cooped up in the house.

Bucky was out running with Duke a few weeks after the men had marked her, Steve and Izabelle cuddled on the couch watching a movie, wrapped in a blanket. She lay on his front, but her hands wandered, stroking his sides absently, eventually sliding under Steve’s shirt to caress the warm muscles underneath. Izabelle felt him let out a long breath, patient as always with her exploration of his body, making her smile. She pushed herself up slightly and tugged at the t-shirt, grinning as he sat up just enough to pull it off, then relaxed back, his hands coming to rest on her hips.

Izabelle noticed bite marks, some were hers, others she knew belonged to Bucky, and she whined. She knew the men were often together when they went down to the gym in the basement, and the idea made her groan in want; the sound surprising her. Leaning down she bit softly at one of his nipples, felt his body tense under her and Steve’s breath left him in a shuddering sigh, as she licked across his pecks. Izabelle reached down to pull off her shirt, a blush colouring her skin, even as she felt Steve grow still underneath her. Normally when she explored and played, her clothes stayed on, and she was infinitely grateful for the men’s patience with her. Taking one of Steve’s hands from her hip, she placed it on her breast, still encased in the lace of her bra.

He watched her reaction as Izabelle’s eyes closed while he stroked his thumb repeatedly over her nipple and it peaked through the lace. Her fingers tensed on his chest, nails digging in slightly, making him grin as he brought her down so he could kiss gently along her collarbone. “We okay?” he asked softly.

Her fingers pinched his nipples and she nodded, breathing heavily. “More than okay,” she replied, voice drawn deep. “But…”

Steve drew away and stared at her, a small frown crossing his face as he brought his hand up from her hip to cup her cheek. “Tell me,” he urged.

Swallowing, Izabelle let out a breath. “I know you’ve been extra careful with me, and I appreciate it,” she replied, biting her lip as she paused and lowered her lashes slightly. “But…can you not be? I think I need you to lead this.”

He studied her closely and nodded. “And you promise you’ll tell me if it’s too much?” When Izabelle nodded, Steve buried a hand into her hair and pulled her down for a kiss. Running his tongue along the seam of her lips, she opened quickly, and he swallowed her groan.

The hand that had been resting on her breast, slipped inside the material, and he felt her lean further into his palm. He pulled away from her lips. “You have the softest skin,” he growled. Reaching back with both hands, he unfastened her bra and let it fall to the floor, cupping her breasts together and bringing his mouth down to lick and nip at her skin. Steve smiled at the various sounds he was drawing from her, curious to see what other noises she would make.

Steve sat up, and lay Izabelle down on her back, her legs wrapped around his thighs. Her skin was saved from the coolness of the leather by the blanket they’d been wrapped in, and Izabelle squirmed against it as he continued to nuzzle down her chest. His beard tickled her skin and she held his head as he kissed and licked along her ribs, his hands working at the ties of her pants.

His large hands spanned her hips and slid into her yoga pants, pushing them and her underwear down, her body rising to help take them off, as his mouth continued its exploration along her belly. Grazing his teeth over the thin skin where her groin met her upper leg, Steve felt her shiver underneath him. Wrapping a hand around each of her thighs, he lay between her legs, nuzzling her thigh with soft nips, working his way up to her slit, where he gave a long lick with just the tip of his tongue. Steve listened to her whimper, grinned against her skin when her hands moved to bury in his hair and returned to give short licks, before driving his tongue deep inside her, searching as far as he could. His hands had to clamp down on her thighs, holding her still, when she would have bucked.

Izabelle gasped, feeling one of his arms settle across her hips while Steve traced his fingers through her lips, sliding two fingers deep inside of her. A groan worked its way from her throat as he traced over a place far inside of her, sucking her clit and running his teeth across it gently.

Steve felt her thighs tense around him and growled around her while his fingers continued to thrust. Her hands pulled at his hair, as he listened to her cry out, her body shuddering underneath him in pleasure. He let her ride out her orgasm before pulling his fingers from her and sucking them clean, slowly kissing his way up her body, he stopped to lick and nip at her nipples until she was squirming under him.

“Steve, please,” Izabelle gasped under him, dragging her nails up his back.

He chuckled lowly, using one hand to position himself so that he could easily slide home. Steve watched her face closely; it was the first time outside of her heat, and he wanted to make certain she was alright. When Izabelle pulled him down for a kiss, he growled deeply and started moving slowly within her.

Izabelle arched her hips, breaking from his lips to whine, “ _ Please _ .”

Nuzzling along her cheek to nip at his mating bite gently, he heard her groan and he murmured, “Easy, sweetheart.” Steve brought her knees up to rest on his chest, and listened to her pleasured sound, but continued his slow pace. Over the course of her heat, he had learned her body and knew from the tightening of her body around him that he was hitting the right spot deep inside of her.

Her breath caught and drew shallow, and Izabelle reached between them to stroke herself, her other hand reaching up to wrap around him, but Steve grabbed her wrist from between them. He entwined their fingers next to her head on the couch and hovered over her lips, drawing back slightly when she bent up for a kiss. He grinned, watching as she buried her head back into the cushion with a cry as she came again, then kissed her deeply. Only then did Steve increase his pace to reach his own release, pulling back just enough not to trigger his knot, groaning into her mouth as he came.

Steve helped her relax her legs back down, kissed and stroked her body as he pulled from her with a pleased moan. But he heard her quietly whimper, an almost fearful sound, and he rolled them to their sides as Steve studied her with concern. “What’s wrong, Izzy?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Frowning at her timid tone, he stroked her cheek and brought her gaze up to meet his. “Of course not, Izabelle. Why would you ask that?” Steve asked in concern. Then he realized. “Sweetheart, I don’t need to knot you to enjoy myself.”

Her brow furrowed as she studied his face, shaking her head as much as she could against his hand. “But…” Izabelle’s voice died off in confusion.

Steve could see her struggling and pulled the blanket up and around them as he sighed silently. He kept one hand on her cheek and used his other arm to hug her tightly to his body. “Izzy, Bucky and I don’t knot one another,” he pointed out softly.

“But neither of you are omegas,” she replied, but her voice was tinged with uncertainty.

“Pleasure doesn’t change because of the designation, Izabelle,” Steve replied. “I can knot omegas, yes. But it doesn’t mean I have to. It’s a choice.” He watched her trying to relearn what Brock had obviously been drilling into her head since he had mated her at nineteen and let out a patient sigh. “Was it less pleasurable for you?”

“No,” she whispered, blushing softly.

Steve grinned and ran his thumb over her cheek. “If you ever want us to outside of your heat, Bucky and I absolutely will, Izabelle,” he assured, pressing gentle kisses against her forehead and nose. “But we’ll never assume that’s what you want, okay?”

Izabelle nodded slightly, licking her lips then chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t know if I can ask for things,” she admitted.

“We’ll work with you on that,” he promised. “Bucky and I will check-in, and ask you okay? We know this is new for you.”

“He should be home soon, we should go shower,” she said with a small smile.

Sitting up, Steve adjusted her to that she sat across his lap to scoop her up into his arms and carried her through to the bathroom. Setting her on her feet, he reached in and turned on the shower, before stepping inside and drawing her in with him.

“What are you doing?” Izabelle asked in surprise.

Steve grinned as he closed the glass door behind her, letting go of her hand to let her clip up her hair. He grabbed a washcloth and covered it in her body wash, before he started cleaning her, gently kissing her body after rinsing her skin.

Izabelle shivered by the time he was finished, her body clean, but she was surprised to find herself aroused by the tenderness he had shown her. Taking the cloth from him once Steve had finished, she rinsed it out and reached for his body wash and lathered it in her hand and went to work cleaning him. Izabelle found herself shaking nervously when she reached his waist, and he took the cloth from her, kissing her lips gently.

“Small steps, sweetheart,” he assured, as he finished washing himself quickly and turning off the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and dried her off, sending her into the bedroom to dress before he quickly towelled himself and followed.

The pair met Bucky coming into the bedroom, his hair pulled up and breathing hard. Izabelle smiled at him as he came over to place a kiss on her lips, then moved over to Steve to do the same. “My turn for the shower,” he said with a grin.

“Where’d you leave Duke?” Steve asked with a frown.

“He sprawled on the tiles in the kitchen after drinking from his bowl,” Bucky replied with a grin.

“Did you take the long route today?” Steve asked with a chuckle. When the dark-haired alpha nodded, Steve shook his head. “He’ll be out for a while.”

“Nat and Clint are coming by for dinner,” Izabelle reminded the pair. “I’m going to start marinating the chicken.”

The men watched her leave, Steve smiling fondly, and Bucky watched her leave before grinning at the other man. “Progress?” Bucky asked softly.

Sighing softly, Steve nodded and ran a hand through his hair. “A little,” he replied. He explained what had happened, but Izabelle’s concerns about knotting, causing Bucky to frown in return. Smiling ruefully, the blond shook his head. “Ten years is a lot of unlearning to do.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Bucky replied with a sigh. “I’ll clean up and meet you out there.”

Steve found Izabelle covering the container, putting it in the fridge, and he moved to help her clean up, but she shooed him away. He grinned and moved to sit at the counter, letting her move around on her own. It felt odd, in a way; he and Bucky had always been the ones taking care of everyone, but he was happy that she felt comfortable in the house to take over and move him out of the way.

A harsh groan drew their attention, and Steve glanced over to watch Duke roll from his stomach to lay on his side on the tile and huff loudly. Izabelle laughed at the animal’s antics, drawing his attention back to her while his face split in a wide grin. It was becoming a frequent sound in the house, but he relished it, considering the state she had arrived in.


	28. Chapter 28

The group was sitting in the living room after several rounds of Trivial Pursuit, relaxing and chatting. They were paying zero attention to the movie they had put on when Duke suddenly stood at attention and stared at the entryway. The men all frowned as there was a knock at the door. Bucky moved to answer it while everyone stood, Steve holding Izabelle protectively against his side.

Fury stood in the doorway, a grim look on his face. “Sir. Come in,” Bucky said in surprise, moving aside, but checking the darkened neighbourhood before closing the door behind him.

“Sorry to barge in,” Fury apologized, a deep-set frown on his face. He reached down to pet Duke’s head as the dog moved to greet him happily, sighing as he looked around the room. “We need to talk.”

Izabelle stared at him, her eyes wide at his grim expression, swallowing hard. “What’s happened?”

His face softened when he looked at the omega, pleased she looked better than when he first met her in the hospital. Fury’s eyes lingered over the mating marks on her neck as Bucky came to Izabelle’s side, both alphas taking her hands and drawing her to sit between them before Fury glanced at the other couple. “You know we’ve kept Rollins under observation, as well as Rumlow,” he stated while he sat in an empty armchair. A humourless smile crossed his face and he chuckled. “Stark’s break-in didn’t go unnoticed.”

“That was my fault…” Izabelle started softly; her voice rushed as she tried to take responsibility.

“I don’t blame any of you,” Fury interrupted, waving his hand. “At any rate, Rollins goes in to see Brock every few days. Their meetings are recorded, but nothing of note ever happens. Today wasn’t any different that we could tell. Except that half an hour after Rollins left, Rumlow demanded to speak to the DA.”

Steve frowned heavily. “Why?”

“He’s now pleading guilty to all charges,” Fury replied, staring at the trio. He watched Izabelle pale and start shaking her head. “I take it you find this as strange as I do.”

“Omegas are property, not people to him,” she whispered hoarsely. “You can’t be guilty of damaging your own couch… It doesn’t make any sense.”

She was shaking so badly Steve pulled her into his lap to hold her, shushing her softly when her breathing became uneven. Duke moved to lay his head across her lap, nuzzled up against her chest. Izabelle’s description of how Brock viewed her brought a wave of anger through Steve, and he glanced over to see Bucky in much the same state as the other alpha moved over to stroke the woman’s back.

“So, what now?” Natasha asked softly. She sat forward, all business while she studied men’s boss, but her eyes continued to flick towards the omega in concern.

“We’re still watching him, and Rollins,” Fury replied with a small smile; he had always liked the female alpha. “But we’re not sure what he’s planning. Izabelle, do you have any insight?”

She blew out a deep breath and forced herself to straighten, pushing herself to her feet. She kept Steve’s hand to steady herself and faced the men’s boss, shaking her head. “I barely understood what he was thinking when we were together; once he put me in the shed…” Izabelle dropped her head, licking her lips. “I’m sorry.”

Fury smiled gently at her and shook his head. “Don’t apologize, I just thought it was worth asking,” he said. “I’ll let you all get back to your evening. But I just wanted you all to know.”

“We appreciate the heads-up,” Steve said with a nod. He stood and turned to Izabelle, cupping her cheek and asking, “Will you be alright if I walk him out?”

She swallowed and nodded with a small smile. “Duke and Bucky are here,” she murmured. “Nat and Clint too. I’ll be okay.”

He nodded and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before he walked Fury out to his car. “You’re worried,” Steve said darkly.

“We both know, and Izabelle agreed, this isn’t Rumlow’s MO to plead guilty; he doesn’t think he’s done a damned thing wrong where that girl is concerned,” Fury growled. He turned and stared hard at the other alpha, eyes narrowed. “You both mated her?”

“It was completely Izabelle’s choice, Sir,” Steve replied evenly, having expected the conversation from his boss. “And wasn’t done lightly, believe me.”

Fury snorted and shook his head. “You never do anything without thinking through every angle.”

Steve grinned, crossing his arms and letting out a sigh. “When will sentencing be, now that he’s changed his plea?”

“Soon, but I don’t have a date yet; I’ll message you.”

“Good. I don’t want to frighten her, but once we know, I might start carrying, even around the house,” Steve replied. “Izabelle likely won’t be happy with that.”

Fury nodded and opened the door to his car. “Good luck with that.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Steve scanned the neighbourhood before he headed back inside. Though he knew Brock was still locked up and Rollins was being watched, part of him knew the clock was running until something happened.

Bucky glanced up as Steve re-entered, the men sharing a dark look, while the dark-haired alpha pressed a kiss to Izabelle’s head. She sat in his lap, talking to Natasha, unaware of her mates’ silent communication, though she was tense.

Steve leaned in the doorway to the living room and crossed his arms, rubbing a hand over his beard as he tried to imagine what was going through her head. Izabelle had come a long way, but he worried about what this would do. He watched her look up and notice him, and he smiled for her, rejoining the group and chuckling as she threw her legs across his lap.

It was well after midnight when he walked Natasha and Clint out, pausing next to their car. “Call us,” Clint insisted. “Any time, day or night. You know I’ll come running because something’s off about this whole situation.”

“We’re all in agreement there,” Steve said with a sigh, hugging the beta. “You’re on speed dial, I promise.”

“Keep taking deep breaths, Muscles,” Natasha advised. “She’s on edge now. It won’t help if you two don’t stay level-headed.”

Sighing heavily, Steve nodded and hugged her tightly. “I know. I’m working on it,” he agreed, drawing back with a small smile. “I’ll keep you posted.”

Heading inside, Steve locked up when he found the living room empty, checking all the windows and doors as he made all the way to the bedroom. There, he found Izabelle curled up next to Bucky on the bed, the television turned on in their room. He smiled gently and climbed onto the bed next to her. Steve wrapped his one arm behind her, and thought Izabelle was shivering, then realized she was bouncing her knee back and forth; a nervous tick. Laying his hand on her thigh to settle her, he offered her a smile when she glanced at him.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“Izzy, it’s all right,” Steve assured.

“We understand, believe me,” Bucky agreed.

Gently rubbing her thigh, Steve smiled at her. “Izabelle, you know Bucky and I won’t let anything happen to you, right? That we will do anything to keep you safe?”

She sighed heavily but gave a small nod. “I know, I just…” Her mind whirled; it was the most uneasy she had felt since she had first arrived at the house. Running her hands into her hair, she tugged at it and closed her eyes, tilting her head back. “You two can settle if you want; I don’t think I’ll sleep much tonight.”

The alphas shared a look over her head before Bucky leaned in to nuzzle along her throat where his claiming bite was. Izabelle shivered and started to look down but caught sight of Steve pulling off his shirt. “What are you doing?” she asked in confusion as the blond crawled to the bottom of the bed on his knees and dragged her by the ankles until she lay flat on her back.

“I think we know a way to tire you out and help you sleep,” Steve replied, voice deep, grinning as Bucky echoed the sentiment with a low growl against her neck.


	29. Chapter 29

It took virtually no time for the men to persuade Izabelle, as they removed her clothes between soft kisses on her skin, leaving her breathless. When they pulled back briefly to peel off their own clothing, she bit her lip as she saw various bruises sucked into their skin from each other, clenching her thighs together. “Can I…” Her voice died off while her face flushed dark.

Sharing a curious glance, they got back onto the bed and bracketed her body, running their hands along her skin gently, while Steve asked, “Can you what, sweetheart?”

The alphas watched as Izabelle covered her face with her hands and shook her head in embarrassment, making Bucky chuckle. Gently drawing her hands down, he kissed her knuckles and said, “Izzy, you can ask us anything, you know that.”

Biting her lip, Izabelle couldn’t meet their eyes while she spoke. “Can I see you two together? A little bit?”

Growling softly, Steve watched her eyes fly up to his in surprise, but he wore a wide smile. “Of course, you can,” he agreed easily. “We haven’t wanted to make you uncomfortable, that’s why we’ve stayed downstairs.”

Bucky nuzzled his claiming mark, feeling her shiver against him and glancing down to watch her nipples harden while he grinned. “But the plan still stands; we are wearing you out so you can sleep, Freckles,” he said firmly. “So, who do you want tonight; me or Steve? And whoever you don’t, we’ll take care of each other.”

Steve watched her frown, and he stroked her cheek. “Neither of us will be offended if you choose the other, I promise, Izabelle. No matter what, it’s a win-win situation here,” he said with a chuckle.

She turned and kissed his palm, then looked to Bucky and said, “You,” softly. Since she had been with Steve earlier today, she wanted the dark-haired alpha since she had only been with him during her heat.

“Do you trust me?” Bucky asked, his voice husky.

“Of course,” she replied instantly. The dark-haired alpha rolled her to face him, taking her thigh up over his hip while he kissed her tenderly. Izabelle relaxed into him until she felt lips on her back; she jumped and pulled away from Bucky to glance back over her shoulder.

“It’s just me, sweetheart,” Steve assured softly, smoothing his hands over her skin. He licked along her spine and watched her shiver, asking, “Do you want me to stop?”

Izabelle blew out a long breath to steady her nerves as Bucky nuzzled her cheek. “No, I… It’s okay,” she assured the men.

Scooting lower on the bed, Steve placed soft kisses on her body, licking along her scars while Bucky continued to kiss her, one of his hands cupping her cheek, the other playing with her breast. When Steve reached her slit, he felt her startle, then heard a soft moan, making him smile as he began to feast. His hands came to hold her thigh when she tried to bring it off Bucky’s hip, her muscles tensing in pleasure.

Not knowing what to do with her hands, she buried them into Bucky’s hair, pulling as Steve brought her quickly. She drew away from Bucky’s mouth to cry out, panting as he nibbled along her neck but realized that Steve wasn’t stopping. “What…?”

Chuckling, Bucky threaded the fingers that had been on her cheek into her curls and grinned at her. “I told you; we’re wearing you out so you can sleep, remember?”

Izabelle groaned as Steve sucked at her clit, growling softly and bringing her a second time. Her hips twitched as he slipped two fingers inside of her, and Izabelle’s head fell back into Bucky’s hand as Steve’s fingers pressed deep inside and found the spot he was looking for.

Smiling against her thigh when she whined, Steve nodded licked at her clit, his tongue tracing over to where Bucky was hard and pressed against Izabelle’s abdomen, making the other man groan. The blond alpha teased Izabelle slightly, his fingers thrusting slowly and flicking slowly while her hips pressed down on his hand, his tongue brushing lightly over the couple. Just as Steve could feel Izabelle drawing close, he pulled away, placing soft kisses on her thighs when she whimpered and hearing Bucky soothing her.

Izabelle reached down to tug at Steve’s hair, but he murmured, “Shhh, sweetheart,” against the bottom of her spine. He kissed along her back, and once her breathing had evened out, Steve slid his fingers back inside her and continued to lick at her. It took little time for her to build back up, but again, he pulled away before she could finish.

Steve glanced up at Bucky after hearing the whine, knew they could not play with her too much given her past with Brock. But they also wanted to make certain she would be exhausted enough to sleep. The blond nodded, and once her breathing had evened out, Bucky reached down and slowly guided himself inside her.

She had not been expected the move and gasped, her body tight with unresolved tension. Bucky rolled her onto her back and waited, his hands stroking her cheeks. “We okay, Izzy?”

Her throat was tight; she had been nearing her limit between enjoyment and not. Though she knew the men would never not let her come, old fears had started to surface. “Please,” was all she could whisper.

“No more denying, I promise,” Bucky assured as he started to move.

Izabelle wrapped her legs over his hips as his hands stayed on her face to anchor her. Steve’s hand slipped in between them to massage her clit, and the orgasm that had been hovering right near the surface crashed through her making her back bow. Her nails scored Bucky’s back as all her muscles drew tight, and she cried out.

The men shared a grin as Bucky continued to thrust through it, growling at the blood he knew she had drawn down his back. He sped up, searching for his own and claiming her lips, sucking her tongue into his mouth to play with. He could feel Steve still stroking her, and felt her moan softly again as he growled, his own release shuddering through.

Izabelle finally batted Steve’s hand away from her, too sensitive, as Bucky’s hips stuttered against her and he emptied himself inside her. She was breathing heavily as he drew away to nuzzle and nip at his claiming mark, and Izabelle flushed. “I’m sorry I got upset,” she whispered.

Steve reached over to stroke her cheek. “No, Izzy, I’m sorry,” he replied. “I knew I was pushing it by doing it. I should’ve asked you about that first.”

When he leaned in, Izabelle accepted his kiss gladly, her body lax between them, but she put a hand on his chest and smiled when he frowned slightly at her. “Okay, now for your part of the deal,” she whispered, glancing down at him still hard against her thigh.

Chuckling, Steve glanced at Bucky and growled at the other alpha as the blond got off the bed and stood at the edge. “Come here, babe,” he whispered darkly.

Izabelle shivered at his tone, deeper than any he had used with her. Bucky placed one last soft kiss on her lips before he crawled over to Steve and raised on his knees to kiss him deeply, each man fighting to control the kiss. She watched in fascination, as Bucky bit harshly at the blond’s collarbone, and began tracing his way down the man’s chest, Steve groaning and threading his fingers into the long, dark hair to guide him.

Tracing his tongue over the head of Steve’s erection, Bucky used one hand to draw it away from his belly to lick the slit and the moisture already dripping. Chuckling, he glanced up and murmured, “Are you eager, Punk?”

“Babe…” Steve groaned, pulling hard on his hair.

Running his tongue along the thick vein that ran along the underside of his erection, when he got to the top, he engulfed Steve fully until he bumped the back of his throat, then swallowed slightly and groaned. Bucky felt his lover vibrating with need and growled before pulling off, his hand coming up to stroke him, then rolled onto his back and winked. “I know what you really want,” he murmured. He leaned his head off the bed and opened his mouth, listening to Steve growled as he guided himself back inside Bucky’s mouth.

Steve glanced up and saw Izabelle watching the pair with wide, hungry eyes, and grinned. Bucky placed his hands on Steve’s thighs, their agreed placement for if they needed to signal an issue, then began thrusting. The position allowed him to slide into Bucky’s throat slightly, and the other alpha growled, the vibrations sliding straight up his spine in pleasure. He placed his hands on the brunet’s chest, tweaking his nipples and bending to lick and bite at the muscular body while he thrust, sweat coating his skin. After watching the pair together, Steve wasn’t lasting long. Grunting, he drew back slightly to thrust shallowly, feeling Bucky’s one hand coming up to stroke the rest of his length as he whispered, “Now, Babe.”

Izabelle watched as Bucky swallowed everything Steve released into his mouth, then gently licked the man clean while the blond caught his breath. She panted softly, surprised to find herself aroused again from the display; there was something utterly erotic about watching the men,  _ her _ men, together.

Bucky sat up and drew Steve down onto the bed, kissing him gently. “I think we all need a bath,” he said with a grin, glancing around at the trio and laughing softly.

“The first one who can walk can draw it,” Steve said with a heavy sigh.

“I will,” Bucky replied, shoving the other man playfully. “You two wait here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

The other man disappeared while Steve turned to Izabelle and grinned, drawing her down to lay against his chest. “You enjoyed the show,” he said softly.

She flushed and ducked her head. “Maybe,” she admitted.

Burying his nose against the skin of her neck, he inhaled deeply and let out a low, satisfied chuckle. “I know you did,” he murmured. “And you’re allowed to.”

“Shut up,” she whispered in embarrassment.

Steve laughed happily, drawing her face up to meet his eyes. “Izabelle, there’s nothing wrong with it,” he assured.

Bucky walked back into the bedroom and stared at the pair gently for a moment. He smiled and leaned over to kiss her cheek gently, nodding. “He’s right, Izzy. And know that we’re both yours to command,” he murmured, kissing her cheek before he lifted her in his arms. “Now, let’s go take a bath.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her, glancing back to see Steve following with a grin on his face. When Bucky waited for Steve to get in and placed her into the blond’s arms, she frowned slightly.

“I’m going to put clean sheets on before I join you; always nicer to do the work before relaxing.”

“Very true,” Steve agreed.

“Don’t take too long,” Izabelle murmured, already enjoying the heat. He nodded and disappeared, but she lay against Steve’s chest, her eyes already drooping closed.

“Sleep, Izzy,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.

By the time Bucky joined them, Izabelle was out cold, and the men shared a smile. “So, we’ll have to keep her distracted, until we can figure out what’s going on,” Bucky said quietly, trying not to disturb her.

“Nat will help. I’ll message Wanda in the morning too,” Steve agreed.

“But we’ll worry about it all in the morning,” Bucky agreed. “For now, let’s just get some sleep. Duke’s already passed out on the foot of the bed waiting for us.”

Steve chuckled and nodded. Between the pair of them, they managed to get Izabelle out of the tub and dried off, laying her on the mattress before they towelled themselves and curled around either side of her.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homophobic slur used in this chapter - I do not agree nor abide by this language, however given the character using it, it fits. Please don't hate me!!!!

Worry crept through the back of her mind, but the week seemed to fly by. A project came up for the men, and they were busy in the office more than they had been. Wanda and Natasha took turns coming by to keep her company; Wanda was teaching her calligraphy, though Izabelle found the pair spent most of the time laughing at her complete lack of concentration. Natasha had challenged the omega to movie trivia, and the pair were on a multi-day streak, matched nearly evenly on scores. Duke continued to lay across her feet wherever she sat, mostly on his back so she would rub his belly, making her giggle.

At night, Izabelle had no time to stress about anything. The trio always ended up piled on the couch in some form; Izabelle always curled against Steve, but Bucky switched between being next to her, or the other alpha. But each night she had little time to think about anything but the men exhausted her, and she got to watch them with one another. Sometimes, Izabelle found she was squirming once they were finished, making the alphas chuckle, and they were more than happy to bring her to another orgasm before running the bath for the trio to cuddle in.

A week after Fury had stopped by, with nothing having happened, life had settled back at the house into a routine. Izabelle was humming along with the music and cleaning up after lunch when Steve came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She grinned and turned, asking, “Can I help you?”

“You don’t have to keep doing all the housework, you know,” he reminded her, running a hand along her cheek and into her hair. “Bucky and I  _ are _ capable of cleaning up and cooking too, you know.”

She smiled at his teasing tone, leaning into him and running her hands up around his shoulders. “I like doing it,” she replied softly. “Besides, you’re working more now that you’re able to; so, you’re busier. Bucky, too. I still haven’t decided what I really want to do, and this lets me do something.”

Steve understood the need to keep herself occupied. He leaned down to kiss her, his one arm holding the small of her back and pulling her against him while the other stayed buried in her hair. When Izabelle’s hands slid down his back, Steve moved slightly away, but not fast enough, and she froze when she felt something under his knit sweater.

He pulled back as Izabelle frowned at him, quickly sliding her hand under the sweater to touch metal before she jerked back with wide eyes. “You’re carrying a gun!”

“Izabelle…”

“No!” she snapped, drawing back when he tried to touch her arms. “You keep telling me not to panic, and not to overthink this. How long have you been walking around with that?”

“Since Fury stopped by,” he admitted. Steve held no regret for withholding the information from her, and he caught her gaze, his own dark as he held it. “Bucky and I will keep you safe, at any cost. Duke is on guard duty, and we’re both armed until everything is sorted out.”

“And yet you’re both telling me it isn’t a big deal,” Izabelle growled at him. She ran her hands through her hair and paced away from Steve, hearing Bucky coming into the doorway of the kitchen, she turned and stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“What’s happened?” Bucky asked warily; Izabelle’s scent was flooding the room with fear and anger.

“Where have you been hiding  _ your _ gun?” Izabelle snapped.

Sighing, Bucky glanced at Steve who crossed his arms and shrugged. “Yes, we’re carrying,” he agreed with a small nod. “And we won’t apologize, Izzy.”

“I just… I can’t,” she whispered. Swallowing hard, Izabelle shook her head. “I was around enough weapons. Threatened with them… I  _ can’t _ .”

Steve reached out and took her hand before she could walk away, holding it gently, turning her back to face him and wiped the tears that started to fall. “We have never hurt you, Izabelle,” he reminded her softly. “And we’re not about to start now. But Bucky and I will be damned if we let anything happen. It’s a precaution, and we should have told you, I’m sorry.”

Izabelle tilted her head up and let both of the men press gentle kisses on her lips before she let out a shaking breath. “I just need some space. I’m going to take my e-reader out back to the pit with Duke,” she said quietly.

She grabbed it from the table with her sweater, patted her thigh to have Duke follow her, and headed outside. Izabelle settled into one of the chairs and threw her sweater across her legs. Leaning her head back against the chair she blew out a long breath. Duke laid his head on her lap for a moment, letting her pet his head while her emotions settled. When she sat up and turned on the reader, the dog began wandering, and she watched him go with a small smile.

Izabelle lost herself in what she was reading, and time passed without her realizing that the sky was starting to grow dark. Setting down the e-reader, she stretched, arching her back with a groan. Looking around, it occurred to Izabelle that Duke had never returned to lay next to her, and the thought made her stomach clench; it was so unlike him. Swallowing hard, she started to stand slowly, scanning the yard between herself and the house, knowing she should check the open area behind her and the treeline. She never got the chance to turn.

A hand clamped over Izabelle’s mouth at the same time another grabbed her hair and started dragging her backward. She recognized the scent instantly and started screaming, both hands reaching up to scratch at Brock’s arm, drawing blood. He pulled her quickly into the treed area behind the yard, snarling as she continued to fight him, and hauled her up against his own body, the hand on her mouth wrapped around her neck.

“You’ve got fight in you now,” he growled in her ear. “But you smell like them. I always told you, my beautiful Belle; you’re nothing but a hole to fill. Even for those faggots.”

“Each of them is more of a man than you’ll ever be,” she ground out.

Rumlow snarled at her, then moved his hands against her throat, dragging his fingers high against her jaw so he could see the skin clearly and the mating marks on either side. His eyes darkened in fury as he pressed his face against hers. “You’re mine, Belle. I’ll make sure you remember that,” he whispered darkly.

Izabelle tried to swallow past his fingers, but when he pulled out a knife she froze. Memories of him slicing her skin wormed through her mind and she waited to see what he would do. Rumlow sliced her shirt open, letting the material fall to the ground, then tossed the metal away, leaving her feeling almost faint in relief, until he pushed her to the ground on her stomach. She bucked against him, bringing back an elbow into his ribs, then his groin; anything to get him off her so she could try and run. Izabelle heard him growl before he brought the butt of his gun down against the back of her head, stunning her in a nauseating wave. When her vision cleared, he had managed to open her jeans and pull them down a few inches, but she started to fight again before a sound cracked in the silence of the trees.

Brock pulled her up onto her knees, his hand squeezing Izabelle’s throat so tightly she struggled to breathe, the edges of her vision beginning to darken. Her eyes watered as they searched, and she saw Steve moving silently, a gun trained expertly on them, a rock in his other hand. Izabelle could feel Brock still looking around, knew he had not seen the other alpha yet. Steve motioned to her with the rock, and Izabelle gave a hand signal that she understood.

When Steve threw the stone and it crashed, Rumlow’s hand loosened slightly while his head turned to look in the direction of the noise. Izabelle drove the back of her head into Brock’s face, forcing it back just far enough that it was no longer hidden by her hair. The move hurt her, considering his brutal blow earlier, but it was the only way to get Rumlow into the open.

Gunfire broke the silence; Steve hadn’t missed, and it had been a kill shot. Izabelle was dragged backward, Brock’s hands spasmed in death even tighter. When she was released, she began coughing in panic and struggled to take a steady breath.

Steve rushed forward, saw the panic in her eyes as her spine bowed off the ground, her hands scrambling to grab hold of anything to anchor herself. Laying on the ground, Steve pulled her to lay on top of his own body, his hands cupping her cheeks to make her look at him. “Breathe with me, Izzy,” he instructed softly, taking a slow, calculated breath in through his nose. He watched her try to echo the move, though she coughed and struggled, but continued, and released it when he did. Steve continued tandem breathing with her until they heard someone approaching, their footsteps quiet in the underbrush. He could feel her panicking, her body stiffening as her eyes widened, and he stroked her cheek, murmuring, “Easy, it’s my backup, sweetheart.”

“Steve?” Clint asked softly.

“Rumlow’s down,” Roger’s called out. “And Izzy needs help, Clint.”

The beta approached, holstering his gun, and quickly took inventory of her injuries, his fingers gentle. “Okay, Izzy; you’ve got at the very least, a bruised larynx and a moderate concussion,” Clint said softly. “We need to get you to the hospital for x-rays.”

She clung to Steve’s shoulders and he smiled. “I’ll carry you, sweetheart,” he assured. The blond rearranged her in his arms and got to his feet as more people arrived; Fury leading the group. “I need to get her to the hospital, Sir. You can handle the clean-up?”

Fury took one look at Izabelle’s condition and nodded. “Go.”

Steve kept his breathing deep and even, noting that Izabelle was still mimicking it. When they reached the backyard, she had a deep frown and looked around. “Duke?” she whispered, then grabbed her throat with a pained grimace.

“Hurt, but he’ll be okay,” Bucky assured as he appeared. He studied her injuries with a deep frown, cradling his arm to his chest. “Nat took him to the vet.”

“C’mon, we’re headed to the hospital,” Steve said.

“I’ll call Bruce and Pepper on the way,” Clint said. “Buck, are you okay to drive, or need me to?”

The dark-haired alpha grimaced but nodded. “Should be good for a while; I can get us there.” He saw Izabelle frowning at him in concern at the bruises and swelling covering him, and he smiled at her reassuringly. “I promise, Freckles, I’m okay.”

She wanted to argue with him, but the idea of speaking hurt too much. Part of her wanted to cry, she felt her throat closing slightly, but that the pain made her shudder against Steve as pained noises sounded in her chest.

Steve shushed her as he climbed into the back of the SUV, Bucky driving while Clint knelt on the floorboards in the backseat next to them, on the phone with a medical bag he had grabbed. “Izzy, c’mon, breathe with me,” Steve urged. “I know it hurts, but you’ll get some pain meds soon.”

Izabelle concentrated on his voice and went back to breathing in time with him. Clint pulled out a penlight and began checking her eyes, her pulse. He inspected the back of her head and the wound there, her eyes widening when his gloved hands came away with blood; she had no idea the wound there was that severe.

Feeling her tense, Steve debated his next move quickly given everything that had just happened, then took the risk anyway. He growled at her, his voice dark as he said, “ _ Eyes on me, Izabelle _ .” She straightened and her eyes snapped to meet his, but she didn’t shiver in fear like he was afraid she might. “There we go,” he murmured softly. “Just focus on me and breathing, okay?” Izabelle nodded but grimaced when even that movement hurt.

Clint glanced up at the alpha, impressed that the gamble had worked; as soon as the man had growled, Clint had worried Izabelle would panic. He was glad that their relationship was stable enough, and she trusted him enough, that Clint could continue his work without her panicking and hurting herself more. “This reminds me too much of the back of military jeeps, guys,” he muttered.

Steve and Bucky both chuckled while the blond stroked Izabelle’s cheek. “Yeah, I thought we agreed we had to stop meeting like this,” Bucky replied, his voice strained. “Pulling up now.”

“I’ll come around and let you both out,” Clint said as the SUV pulled to a stop.

Steve waited then stood, gathering Izabelle close to his chest, glanced at Bucky, and the group walked quickly through the emergency doors. Bruce and Pepper both stood waiting with a cot and two teams. Pepper had Steve lay Izabelle down, whisking her off, while Bruce took Bucky off to a side room to examine him.

Izabelle clung to Steve’s hand, and Pepper smiled reassuringly at her. “It’s all right, Izabelle; he can stay, but I need to move Steve off to the side, all right?”

She licked her lips and nodded. Izabelle kept her eyes on him but found she could not keep her calm because people kept blocking her view. Her breathing became uneven, and the pain skyrocketed, bringing tears to her eyes. Once Izabelle started to cry, breathing became more difficult, and she suddenly found Steve staring down at her.

“Sweetheart?” he said urgently. “Izabelle?”

Pepper shook her head. “I’m going to sedate her, Steve. Otherwise, we won’t even be able to get her into x-ray and CT,” she said softly. “You can’t go in there with her.”

Steve nodded in agreement and stepped back to let the doctor administer the medication. Reaching out, he took Izabelle’s hand and watched as she fell asleep, letting out a long breath.

“Go check on Bucky while we run the scans,” Pepper advised. “I’ll have more information for you after.”

Running his hands through his hair, he nodded and gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Pepper.”


	31. Chapter 31

Steve wandered back until he heard Bruce’s voice, and popped his head through the door. “How’s the patient?”

Bruce glanced up with a small smile and motioned him in. “He’ll live,” the doctor assured Steve. “I sent him for x-ray first; no breaks luckily. Dislocated his left shoulder; he and Sam have to take a break for a while on that arm until it’s healed up. Which means Sam will have his work cut out for him getting the flexibility back.”

“Great,” Bucky muttered with a grin.

The doctor glanced up from where he was putting stitches across his right forearm with a chuckle. “You’ve worked on it from worse shape before,” Bruce reminded him. “I glued your knuckles, the skin there is too thin to put sutures in. And I can probably do the same with your cheek and forehead; they don’t look too deep. The swelling and bruises will hurt like hell for a few days.”

“How’s Izzy?” Bucky asked, staring at Steve.

“Pepper had to sedate her,” the blond replied with a hard sigh. “She got worked up and upset, and couldn’t breathe, which made her more upset…”

“It’s a vicious cycle with injuries like that,” Bruce agreed.

Steve rubbed his beard and nodded. “They were taking her for tests, so I came to check on you.”

Bucky grinned and shrugged his good shoulder. “I’ve had worse, we both know that,” he replied. “I’ll live, Punk.”

Clint walked in on the last, holding his phone out to Steve. “It’s Nat.”

Taking it, Steve walked out into the hallway. “How is he?”

“Duke needed some stitches, and he’ll have to take it easy, but he’s all right,” she assured. “Maria’s letting me take him, but…”

“Only because it’s us,” Steve said with a chuckle. “She knows we won’t let him overdo it, yeah.”

“Exactly. We’ll be a little bit, still. How are things over there?” Natasha asked.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he leaned against the wall and rubbed his forehead. “Bucky’s fine, few stitches and dislocated shoulder,” he explained. “More therapy with Sam later, but we all know he can do the work.”

“And Izzy?”

“She’s gone for CT scans and x-rays,” Steve said tiredly, frowning heavily. “I know she’s got a concussion, how bad I’m not sure. Brock squeezed her throat and did damage, I’m just not sure how much. I had her tandem breathing with me, but talking was difficult; her throat is black, Nat. Pepper had to sedate her, because she started to panic, breathing already hurt, and her pain went sky-high.”

Natasha sighed. “Sounds like she’ll be admitted at least overnight. We’ll try to be there before she wakes up; so that Duke is with her.”

“It’ll be a while, so take your time. I’m sure Pepper will keep her under so she can breathe easier and rest.”

“All right. I have his spare vest in my car, so we’ll see you when we get to the hospital,” Natasha said softly. “Take some deep breaths yourself, Muscles. She’ll be okay.”

Smiling slightly, Steve nodded to himself. “Thanks, Nat. We’ll see you soon.”

He tucked the phone back into his pocket and ran his hands through his hair, inhaling deeply several times the way she had suggested, feeling his shoulders relax slightly. Steve didn’t notice Clint coming out to stand next to him as he laced his fingers behind his neck and stared blankly across the hall.

“You doing okay there?” the beta asked gently.

Dropping his arms to his sides, he grinned slightly. “Processing,” he replied, voice soft. “Things could’ve gone so differently back at the house, Clint. And I could’ve lost them all…”

“But you didn’t,” he reminded, placing a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Bucky’s fine; he was injured way worse when the jeep flipped. Nat messaged me, and Duke wasn’t hurt that bad at all. And Izzy… We won’t know until Pepper has the results, but Izzy will pull through, that much I’m sure of.”

Steve swallowed hard and pulled the other man into a strong hug, nodding. “I can’t thank you enough; you and Nat,” he murmured.

Grinning, Clint patted the other man’s broad shoulders before he drew back. “You know we’re always here.”

Bucky walked out of the room with Bruce, the same time that Pepper approached the group. “How is she?” Steve asked immediately.

“There’s no fracture to her trachea or larynx, just swelling,” Pepper replied. “That was my main concern when she came in. I’ve admitted her and am going to keep her sedated and on pain medications overnight to let the swelling come down in her throat; that should hopefully make breathing easier when she wakes up. Talking will still be difficult for a while, the bruising is severe. The concussion is mild, despite needing several staples.”

“Staples?” Steve asked in concern.

“The wound was deep; it was safer to use them than sutures, to make certain it stayed closed.”

“When can we see her?” Bucky asked.

“They’re just settling her into her room now. The sedation is mild; she’s not intubated at the moment, and I’d like to keep it that way if I can,” Pepper advised. “Speak softly, try not to wake her, okay?”

“You’re the Boss,” Steve agreed.

She smiled gently. “I’ll come to get you in a little while when you can go in.”

“I’ll show you to a private waiting room where you can sit and have a decent cup of coffee, guys,” Bruce offered, nodding at Pepper.

The trio of men followed, the alphas sitting gratefully while Clint poured them coffees once they were inside; the room blissfully empty except for them. Bucky leaned his head against Steve’s shoulder, letting out a long sigh. “Rumlow’s dead?” he asked.

It was the first time they’d been able to have a conversation since everything went down at the house. Turning to press a kiss to Bucky’s forehead, Steve nodded. “Yeah. Not all the blood on Izzy was hers; headshot,” he replied darkly.

“Good,” the dark-haired alpha growled in satisfaction.

They each took the paper cups Clint held out as the nurse sat across from them. “Rollins?”

“Broke his neck; if he’s not dead, he’s gonna wish he was,” Bucky replied. “I still don’t know how the hell they found her. Or how Rumlow got out! Fuck. We should’ve had warning!”

“Breathe, Babe,” Steve murmured, wrapping an arm around him and stroking his hair. “We’ll get answers when we hear from Fury; we both know he’ll show up sooner or later.”

Bucky sighed and nodded. “We should start making phone calls, let people know that she’s in here.”

“Wait until you two see her for yourself,” Clint advised gently. “You’ll feel better and be able to give them more information then.”

“Good idea,” Steve agreed.

“You two were the brawn, I was always the brains,” he teased with a grin.

The trio chuckled, relaxing slightly while they waited.

*****


	32. Chapter 32

Izabelle came awake slowly, aware of a heavy weight on her legs, and surrounded by comforting scents. She tried to swallow but it hurt, and she whimpered in her chest.

“Shhhh, sweetheart,” Steve murmured, stroking her hair. “I have a drink for you, that will help.”

She opened her eyes slowly and found him holding a straw near her lips. Izabelle took a sip, wincing as she swallowed, then dragged a few mouthfuls before pulling back. Breathing was easier than when she had come into the hospital, but her throat still hurt. Her eyes searched the room, and she found Steve sitting on the bed facing her, Bucky perched on a chair, and Duke laying on her legs. She took Steve’s hand and turned to the dark-haired alpha with a frown as she studied him closely; one arm in a sling, face bruised and beaten.

“I’m okay, Freckles,” he assured with a small smile. Standing, he took her hand and bent to kiss her gently. “I’ve been far worse, I promise.”

“Doesn’t make me feel better,” she whispered, voice rough. Izabelle grimaced and closed her eyes.

“Don’t talk,” Steve urged. “Your throat is badly bruised, and it’s gonna be a while before talking doesn’t hurt, okay?” When she nodded, he leaned down to kiss her forehead before he pressed his lips against hers. “And you’ve got staples in the back of your head; a mild concussion. So you might feel a pulling sensation if you move too quick, okay?”

Izabelle nodded and made a motion of writing. Steve, having expected she would have questions, grabbed the pad of paper and pen he had waiting. She wrote down,  _ Brock? _ first. The men sat in chairs next to the bed, pulled up close, and Steve nodded. “He’s dead, so is Rollins,” he assured, stroking her arm carefully around her IV. He watched her sigh, her entire body relaxing back onto the bed as her eyes closed in relief.

She reached out to dig her hands into Duke’s fur, taking a few deep breaths, but felt a shaved down area. Looking down, she grimaced and reached to the side of the bed to adjust the bed. Once she was sitting up, she looked down and noticed the dog had stitches as well and felt her eyes tear up as she stared down at the animal.

“He’s okay, Izzy,” Bucky assured softly as he watched her expression change. “Some stitches, that’s why there’s a shaved area, but that’s all.”

Keeping one hand on Duke, who nuzzled her palm and licked her gently, she wrote,  _ What happened?? _

“We were waiting for you to talk to Fury,” Steve replied. “Now that you’re awake, I’ll message him.” He pulled out his phone and quickly sent off a text, nodding at her when he received an almost immediate response. “He’s in the building and will be here in a minute.”

Izabelle nodded and motioned to the men to cuddle up next to her. They both grinned and obliged, and Bucky half-laid on the bed and spooned her side, combing the fingers from his right hand through her hair. Steve mirrored his position, but propped up his head, stroking down her arm while he watched her snuggle into their touch. He had to be careful; he was on the side where her IV's ran, but he wouldn't turn her down right now, knowing she wanted them close.

A knock sounded at the door several minutes later, and Steve called for them to come in. Fury entered, followed by Natasha and Clint who were smiling and carrying coffees and bags of food. Steve grinned at the trio and, after giving Izabelle a soft kiss, moved to take a coffee before retaking his seat and reaching for Izabelle’s hand. “Sir,” Steve greeted. “Have you managed to figure out how it all happened?”

“Honestly? It was a damned stroke of luck,” Fury said with a sigh, shaking his head. “Rollins sent someone to work with Lang back when you first disappeared, Izabelle.”

“That was years ago,” Bucky said with a frown, seeing Izabelle’s own confused expression. “Why were they still working there, after Brock got out and had her?”

“It just happened to be in their field of work,” Fury replied with a frown. “Because they’d been there so long, we missed it when we vetted Lang and his staff for when you contacted him. That’s on us.”

Izabelle took her hand back to write, shaking her head.  _ I’m not mad. _ She showed Fury, then frowned and wrote,  _ Why did he wait? And why didn’t anyone call that he got out? _

“They didn’t know exactly where you were until your birthday, after that, it was biding his time to form his plan. I think knowing you were with Barnes and Rogers made him rethink how to approach things. Anywhere else, he would've gone in, killed, taken you and run. But these two? Rumlow knew they'd be protective as hell, even without being mated to you, Izabelle. It's one of the reasons I first wanted you placed with them; they're honourable men and don't take shit from anyone. Not even from me." Fury grinned at the pair, then let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his head. "As to how he got out… He had someone on the inside; an officer from that sympathized with Rumlow and Rollins that transferred over to guard duty. He killed the watch officer and left Rumlow’s area unsupervised for hours without anyone realizing. By the time we called Rogers, he already noticed you missing.”

“We heard Duke yelp,” Steve agreed, reaching out to gently pat the dog’s head. “He’d been circling the house, trying to get the drop on Brock we think, when he was after you. But, Rumlow caught him at the side of the house. When I looked out back, Brock was dragging you out of the yard. I called Clint for backup as Rollins came into the house.”

“We were on our way even as we called, but it takes time,” Fury apologized.

“I grabbed my service pistol and Nat and I headed over,” Clint continued. “Nat went for Duke when we saw him at the side of the house, and Bucky was more than holding his own. He told me to go after you and Steve.”

Fury watched her rub her hand over her face, delicately touching her throat, and he frowned. “I’m sorry we didn’t do more, Izabelle,” he said gently. “I knew something was up when he changed his plea, we both did, but I couldn’t figure out his play.”

“S’okay,” she whispered.

Fury grimaced at the harsh sound of her voice, shaking his head. “I’ll leave you to rest. Barnes; take it easy. Rogers, keep me posted how they’re doing?”

“Will do, Sir,” Steve agreed with a nod.

As he left, Natasha and Clint stepped forward and surrounded the bed, gentle smiles on their faces. The female alpha reached out and touched Izabelle’s leg around Duke. “Feeling okay, Izzy?”

She nodded, taking the pad of paper and writing,  _ Pain meds are keeping me comfy. _

“That’s good,” Clint replied with a grin. “That’s how it should be. Wanda and Pietro said they’ll come by once you’re settled at home to visit.”

Izabelle nodded, then frowned.  _ How long do I have to stay here? _

“Pepper just wants to make sure you can eat and drink all right; your throat was swollen badly yesterday,” Steve replied. “She’ll be by in a little bit.”

Izabelle stared around at everyone, felt her eyes begin to tear up and whispered, “Thank you.”

“Sweetheart, don’t cry,” Steve insisted, setting down his coffee and moving back to lay along her other side again. He wiped the tears that fell carefully around the bruises, kissing her temple.

“I know it’ll take time to process everything, Izabelle,” Natasha said softly. “But we’re all here. And you’re safe; he’s gone. Completely gone.”

Izabelle nodded, blowing out a long breath and looking up as the door opened. Pepper walked in and the omega smiled at the doctor.

“Hi Izabelle, everyone,” Pepper greeted. “I know you’re probably anxious to leave. As soon as I’m sure you’re eating all right, you’ll be free to go. And for now, I want you on soft foods, just so that nothing irritates your throat.”

“I thought you might say that, so I brought yogurt,” Natasha added with a grin, motioning to the bag with food sitting on the side table.

“Good. Have some food, and I’ll come back to check on you in a little while.”

“Is she allowed to have tea?” Clint asked, winking at the omega before the doctor could leave.

Pepper smiled, nodding. “As long as it’s not too hot; let it cool a little, but yes.”

Once she was gone, Natasha rolled over the table and pulled out the food; muffins, and yogurt with honey for Izabelle. The coolness soothed her throat, even if swallowing hurt, and she ate ravenously, then reached for her tea and sniffed, closing her eyes and smiling happily.

“Triple fruit,” Clint said with a chuckle. “Thought you’d like something light.”

She mouthed the words, “Thank you,” before taking a mouthful. She watched Natasha feeding Duke pieces of a donut while the group ate quietly, sinking into the comfort.


	33. Chapter 33

Steve’s phone had been buzzing, making Izabelle frown, throughout breakfast but he smiled and shook his head at her. “We were updating people what happened yesterday,” he explained. “They’re checking in on how you are.”

Pepper came back after an hour and re-examined Izabelle, agreeing she looked well enough to be discharged. Clint and Natasha left, saying they would check in later. Pepper gave the omega a script for pain medications, which Steve filled from the hospital’s pharmacy and returned to help Izabelle dress. Bucky stood off to the side, feeling helpless and annoyed, frowning heavily.

Once they got to the car, Steve tucked the pair into the backseat with Duke laying across the floor, the pair buckled and cuddled up. Steve kissed them both softly, before pushing the wheelchair back to the main doors. He let out a deep sigh as he drove the group home. He carried Izabelle inside and to the bedroom, setting her on the bed, kneeling next to her as he asked, “I know you want to get cleaned up, but we have to be careful with your head.”

“Just rinse the hair to get out the blood, then bath,” she whispered, her voice harsh.

Steve smiled slightly and nodded. “The removable showerhead makes that easy,” he agreed. Duke, who had followed closely, Steve stroked his head and removed his vest, telling the dog to relax, the animal’s command to know he was off-duty and rest. Duke jumped onto the end of the bed and let out a long sigh and settled to sleep.

Taking Izabelle into the bathroom, Steve brought the stool over to the shower and helped her lean back, rinsing her hair until the water ran clear, reminded of her first night staying at the house. Steve carefully sat her up, one hand on the back of her head, carefully cradling her around the staples there, and wrapped a towel to gently squeeze the excess water out of the long curls. “Braid?” he asked softly.

Izabelle nodded slightly, meeting his eyes in the mirror, watching as he loosely braided it at the nape of her neck and shut off the tub that had been filling. Bucky appeared in the doorway and smiled when she reached out a hand to him.

“You want us both to cuddle in the bath?” Bucky asked softly. When she nodded, he chuckled. “Are you ever going to say no to that?”

Izabelle shook her head and grinned at the men, making them laugh. The trio got into the tub and settled, Izabelle reaching out to touch Bucky’s wounds gently with a frown. The only one who came out unscathed was Steve, but she was certain his mind was full of dark images of ‘what-if’ scenarios. She sat in the blond’s lap, not wanting to hurt Bucky’s injured shoulder, but stroked Steve’s chest gently, trying to reassure him without speaking that both she and Bucky were all right.

Knowing what she was doing, Steve kissed her forehead and settled into the comfort of having the pair in his arms. “It’s over,” he murmured, assuring himself as much as he was Izabelle.

She nodded and brought her hand up, rubbing her fingers together with a frown. Bucky reached over with his right hand, his left arm laying gently across her legs, and looked at her fingers. “You’re starting to go pruney,” he said with a grin. “Time to get out, I think.”

When she frowned, Steve grinned and pressed a kiss to the side of her head gently. “Comfy clothes, we’ll curl up on the couch, and put on a movie, okay?” he offered.

Izabelle sighed and nodded, slowly getting to her feet and stepping out, letting Steve help Bucky. Once dried she pulled on sweatpants and one of the men’s shirts. Steve sat the pair in the living room until Bucky growled at him that he wasn’t incapable, and the men made food. Duke followed the group, curling up at her feet on the floor, nuzzling her ankles, making her grin and reach down to stroke his fur. They brought Izabelle a protein drink and a banana, uncertain how hungry she would be.

“Did you want anything more?” Bucky asked before he sat. When she shook her head, they all settled into the couch to eat and snuggle, letting a sitcom play while they ate and cleaned up.

Not long after, as they were getting ready to start a movie, there was a knock on the door. Izabelle sat cuddled up next to Steve while Bucky had been getting drinks, so he answered it, smiling at Wanda and Pietro as they entered.

Izabelle looked up and grinned. “Hey,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Oh, Izzy,” Wanda said softly, coming up to cuddle next to her on the couch, on Steve’s far side. Pietro knelt on the ground in front of her to take one of her hands while Wanda reached out to explore the bruises on her neck with soft fingers.

“I’ll live,” Izabelle assured.

“Don’t talk,” Pietro insisted, shaking his head. “Just rest your voice.”

She smiled slightly and relaxed in between Wanda and Steve, running her hand through Pietro’s hair before he turned towards the television and laid his head back against her legs. Bucky was just about to sit down when a knock sounded again, and Izabelle raised her head just enough to see Sam walking in, Scott trailing behind.

“Found him in your driveway, not sure if he should be coming up or not,” Sam explained, shaking his head at the other man and frowning playfully.

“I just…” Scott started, then stopped and shrugged.

“You’re always welcome, Scott,” Steve said softly, smiling as Izabelle nodded in agreement. “Izzy just can’t talk much at the moment. But please, have a seat. We’re all just relaxing and about to watch a movie. I get the feeling popcorn is going to be started soon.”

“I’m on it!” Pietro said, jumping to his feet.

“Oh no, you put pepper on yours!  _ I’m _ making it!” Sam argued, following the other man into the kitchen as they argued.

Izabelle laughed, but held her throat lightly, her face grimacing. Her phone buzzed and Izabelle pulled it out, grinning as she showed Steve the message, who chuckled in return. The door opened a moment later to admit Clint and Natasha, arms loaded with nachos, dip, and sodas.

“Alright, people. The party can officially begin; I have arrived!” Clint announced, arms wide.

“Shut up!” Wanda groaned at him, launching a pillow at his face, which he effectively ducked. Duke rushed from where he was and brought the pillow back to her with a wagging tail, making Wanda laugh, shaking her head.

“It wasn’t going to be a party, I promise,” Bucky said to Izabelle, who was eyeing him and Steve suspiciously. “We knew the twins were coming, Nat and Clint asked about coming over, which is always a yes. Sam messaged asking how you were, and Scott had been checking in once we told him what had happened. But we didn’t expect everyone to come over at once, honestly.”

“But, it’s not like we don’t have the room,” Steve replied with a small shrug, motioning around the living room where everyone had spread out. “We can order food later, and they can stay as late as they want.”

Izabelle glanced at the time; it was only four in the afternoon. But she knew everyone had been concerned after the attack. And, she suspected Natasha and Clint had cleaned up the house while she had been in the hospital since she knew Bucky had fought Rollins inside; one of the windows was boarded up with plywood, but there was no sign of a struggle anywhere.

“They all want to make sure you’re okay,” Steve murmured against her cheek. “And if spending time here reassures them, we’re not going to kick anyone out.”

“Okay,” she whispered, nodding in agreement. It felt nice to have her family close. Pausing, she looked around at everyone, studying the group and shook her head.  _ My family. _

*****

Izabelle knew it was late when everyone left, but she had dozed off during the multiple movies they had played and lost track of time. Eventually, the trio went to bed, and though she was cold, she stripped down before climbing between the covers and between her men. Izabelle wanted to feel their skin against hers as she was sandwiched between them, though with Bucky’s injured shoulder, tonight she cuddled against his chest, with Steve pulled flush against her back, his arm curled around her waist.

They lay quietly for several minutes, quietly stroking each other’s skin reassuringly, before she murmured, “I love you both.”

The men stilled, then their arms tightened around her. Bucky tipped her face up, careful not to hurt her neck, and smiled gently. “I love you too, Freckles,” he said softly before he kissed her in a gentle press of lips.

Steve waited for the other man to pull back, then rolled her onto her back, his eyes warm as he stroked her cheek. “I’ve been wanting to say it for a while now, but I didn’t want to frighten you. I love you, sweetheart. So much,” he agreed. His kiss was more intense, making her draw in a deep breath when he drew away with a smile. Steve made her roll back over onto Bucky’s chest, nuzzling the back of her neck with gentle nips. When Izabelle squirmed between them, he chuckled. “First, you get better, Izabelle. That’s the priority.”

“You’re gonna drive me crazy,” she whined, then touched her throat with a frown.

Steve smiled gently, kissing her shoulder. “No, but it’s no fun if you want to scream, and it causes you pain, Izzy.”

Narrowing her eyes, she fought the groan, knowing he was right, then looked at Bucky, who also wore a dark look. “Better heal fast,” she muttered.

Then men chuckled and hugged her tight. “Goodnight, Izzy,” they said simultaneously.

END


End file.
